A total of twelve teams have qualified for the final round from the initial 30-team first round and are divided into two groups. Hosts Punjab, directly seeded Railways, six group winners from the group stage and four best second-placed teams will participate in this round. Haryana, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and holders Manipur topped their respective groups while hosts Punjab, Chandigarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Karnataka came second. Delhi missed out on the selection of the best runners-up.
The matches will be played in a single round-robin format with the top two sides from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. Two venues are selected for the competition, the GNDU Sports Complex and Khalsa College in Amritsar. The final of the 27th Senior Women's Championship will be held on 28 June 2023 at the GNDU. Manipur are the defending champions having won the competition a record 21 times as well as the three previous editions.
Here are the squads of the teams participating in the 2023 Hero Senior Women’s Championship:
Group A
Punjab
Sita Sharma, Rajbir Kaur, Karam Toni Devi, Soibam Tejibala Devi, Binita Kerketta, Rajat, Karuna, Sushma, Savitri Kumari, Mahima Bishnoi, Promila, Neha Mahn, Karuna, Harmilan Kaur, Nisha, Bandana, Syed Buckshira, Sukhpreet Kaur, Chetna Jaiswal, Husanpreet Kaur, Tanu, Jaspreet Kaur, Ramnik Kaur
Head Coach: Hardeep Singh
Tamil Nadu
Goalkeepers: Devi D (Sethu Madurai), Sowmiya Narayanasamy (Gokulam Kerala), P Dhanalakshmi
Defenders: Sivasami Kowsalya, N Lavanya, M Pavithra, P Dhurga, Shanmugapriya Sasikumar, Subashini M, M Parameshwari
Midfielders: S Priyadharshini (Sethu Madurai), M Malavika, M Nandhini, Karthika Angamuthu (Odisha FC), Indumathi Kathiresan (Gokulam Kerala), R Vinodhini, S Iswariya
Forwards: Sandhiya Ranganathan (Gokulam Kerala), P. Sandhya, Shanmugapriya S, R Yuvarani, N Amsavalli
Recent IWL winners with Gokulam Kerala in Sowmiya, Sandhiya and Indumathi with Odisha FC’s Karthika will be the key figures for Tamil Nadu in the final round. Priyadharshini ended as the top scorer for the side with five goals as the Southern state ended with 15 goals in the first round without conceding a goal.
Chandigarh
Kajal, Vedika Gulia, Priyanka, Kavita, Akshara Rai, Gunpreet Kaur, Priya Kandulna, Khushboo, Ritu, Muskan, Antrika, Santosh, Poonam, Shivani, Anay Bai, Kalpana Kumari, Yati Mehta, Sunaina, Bhabna Devi, Kavita Devi, Bhoomika Singh, Disha
Head Coach: Sanjiv Kumar Maria
Odisha
Goalkeepers: Sasmita Parida (Odisha FC), Spandita Das (Sports Odisha) and Manju Ganjhu
Defenders: Karishma Oram (Odisha FC), Susmita Tanty (Odisha FC), Sradhanjali Panda (Odisha FC), Mamata Patra (Sports Odisha), Juli Kishan (Odisha FC), Bharati Das (Sports Odisha) and Kamini Munda
Midfielders: Bannya Kabiraj (Odisha FC), Munica Minz (Odisha FC), Sumitra Hembram (Sports Odisha), Malati Munda (Odisha FC), Purnima Rao and Nikita Bishi
Forwards: Satyabati Khadia (Odisha FC), Jasoda Munda (Odisha FC), Subhadra Sahoo, Pyari Xaxa (Odisha FC), Deepa Nayak (Odisha FC) and Sasmita Behera
Head Coach: MD. Shahid Jabbar
The two IWL teams from Odisha, Sports Odisha and Odisha FC understandably have the majority of players in the squad for the state. The Munda duo, Malati and Jasoda scored half of the 24 goals in the first round for the team.
Karnataka
Aishwariya A, A Dhanushree, Angel Maria TS, Manasa M, Janani D, Simran Bhargava, Aruna Bag, Jayashree E, Rupali Bauri, Tara Anand, VG Lekhashri, Arushi Santosh, Maithreyi Palasamudram, Tanvi Nair (Bengaluru FC), Mithila Ramani (Misaka United), Sanjita Niroula, Monalisha Marandi, Kaviya Pakkirisamy (Kickstart FC), Rutthu Sreenandan, Sunalinda Lawren (Misaka United), Aditi Jadav
Head Coach: Amoolya Kamal
Kaviya Pakkirisamy of IWL finalists Kickstart FC and Misaka United duo Sunalinda Lawren and Mithila Ramani are part of the Karnataka squad. Maithreyi Palasamudram scored a stunning double hat-trick in the huge 9-1 win over Gujarat in the first round going to add two more to her name. Kaviya came at second in goal-scoring numbers with six including a hat-trick in the 8-0 drubbing of Bihar.
Jharkhand
Anjali Munda, Seema Kispotta, Pratiksha Lakra, Sudha Ankita Tirkey, Asha Kumari, Nitu Linda, Kusma Kispotta, Salina Kumari, Laxmi Mardi, Lalita Boypai, Neelam Tirkey, Mamta Kumari, Astam Oraon (Kickstart FC), Anjali Gari, Birasmuni Dhanwar, Chamni Kumari, Dolly Kumari, Lalita Kumari, Sandhya Toppo, Jyotsna Bara
Head Coach: Gobinda Saha
Group B
Manipur
Goalkeepers: Keisham Melody Chanu (East Bengal), Wahengbam Usharani Devi
Defenders: Mayangmayum Achoub, Wangkhem Linthoigambi Devi, Asem Roja Devi, Yumlembam Papki Devi, Shanglakpam Banti Sharma, Heirangkhongjam Linda Chanu, Th Sahena, Nandeibam Gitanjali Chanu, Kangabam Anita Devi
Midfielders: Iram Prameshwori Devi, Phanjoubam Nirmala Devi, Maibam Nandeshwori Devi, Laishram Bibicha Devi
Forwards: Lynda Kom (Odisha FC), Heigrujam Daya Devi, Oinam Babita Devi
Head Coach: Sandham Manitombi Devi
Defending champions Manipur have retained their core group from the first round and also from previous editions of the competition. Lynda Kom is leading the scoring chart with seven goals including two in the ongoing final round.
Himachal Pradesh
Goalkeepers: Manisha, Praveen Kumari
Defenders: Naketa, Ritu Devi, Poonam, Kavita, Kusum
Midfielders: Riya Sharma, Meenu Datta, Kiran, Anju, Poonam, Priyanka Dutta, Prena Datta
Forwards: Manisha, Surya, Mamta
Others in the squad: Simmi Bhatti, Harshita, Dalima, Aditi Bhatia, Rizwal Rathore
Head Coach: Hasib Ahmed
Maharashtra
Goalkeepers: Payal Basude (Odisha FC), Anjali Barke
Defenders: Afreen Peerbhoy, Sapna Rajpure, Aditi Gadekar, Nidhi Shetty, Aishwarya Bhonde, Pranita Nimkar, Sanika Patil
Midfielders: Karen Pais, Arya More, Harshika Jain, Tanvi Patil, Shreya Bhat, Ritika Singh, Janhavi Shetty, Urvi Salunke, Poornima Ghalot
Forwards: Priya Rathod, Archana Bhaladhare, Trupti Deep, Bhumika Mane
Head Coach: Sanaya Anklesaria
Railways
Goalkeepers: Swarnamayee Samal, Rashmi Kumari,
Defenders: Supriya Routray, Loitangbam Ashlata Devi (Gokulam Kerala), Manisha Panna (Odisha FC), Jabamani Tudu, Madhusmita Barik, Rachita Malik
Midfielders: Sasmita Swain, Laharee Mangaraj, Manpreet Kaur, Anju Tamang (Odisha FC), Mamta, Sangita Das, Kunti Kumari Lakra, Diparnita Dey, Nameirakpam Montesori Chanu
Forwards: Sanju Yadav (Sethu Madurai), Yumnam Kamala Devi (Eastern Sporting Union)
Others in the squad: Richa Rani Sharma, Shilpi Tiwari
Head Coach: Archishman Biswas
Railway have a band of past and present national team players with most of them starring for their clubs in the IWL this past season. Yumnam Kamala Devi, Anju Tamang and Mamta have three goals each in the first two matches of the final round.
West Bengal
Goalkeepers: Adrija Sarkhel, Buli Sarkar (East Bengal), Rani Bhowmich (East Bengal)
Defenders: Mini Roy (East Bengal), Bandana Roy (East Bengal), Arpita Paul, Ratna Halder (East Bengal), Anita Oraon (East Bengal), Sushmita Lepcha, Sathi Debnath
Midfielders: Barnali Karar (East Bengal), Tania Kanti, Sibani Sharma, Neelu Tirkey (East Bengal), Mugli Hemram, Gita Das (East Bengal),
Forwards: Rubina Khatun, Titli Sarkar, Sandhya Maity, Mousumi Murmu (East Bengal), Rimpa Halder (East Bengal), Singo Murmu (East Bengal)
Head Coach: Sujata Kar
West Bengal has a strong contingent of East Bengal players, most winning the inaugural Women’s IFA Shield early this month. The trio of Titli Sarkar, Mousumi Murmu and Singo Murmu combined for seven of the 11 goals scored by the team in the first round.
Haryana
Goalkeepers: Anshika (Hops FC), Shreya Hooda (Odisha FC), Tanu (CRPF FC)
Defenders: Sharda (Hops FC), Pooja (Hops FC), Parmilla (Hops FC), Varshika (Hops FC), Ritu Rani (Gokulam Kerala), Rinku Devi (Hops FC)
Midfielders: Ritu, Munesh Kumari, Santosh (Hops FC), Varsha Rani, Aarti (Hops FC), Shailja (Hops FC), Mamta (Hops FC)
Forwards: Renu Rani (Hops FC), Samshika (Hops FC), Mona (Hops FC), Neha (Hops FC), Bulbul Sharma, Rajni Bala
Head Coach: Indu Sharma
Haryana have a strong contingent of players who played for Hops FC this season in the IWL. With Anshika, Shreya Hooda, Renu Rani and others, they have players plying their trade for the national team at age levels. Neha scored two hattricks in three matches of the first round making her the top scorer for the team.
