Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Friday unveiled the mascot for the Jharkhand Women’s Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023, the first international tournament to be hosted in the state since its creation over two decades ago.

The mascot named Juhi is inspired by the popular elephant at Betla National Park in Palamu district.

“I am honoured to present Juhi, the official mascot for the prestigious tournament. The mascot is inspired by the inspirational story of Juhi, the elephant, that has become synonymous with the beautiful Betla National Park. Apart from carrying thousands of tourists, Juhi also served as a protector of mankind in the forest for decades and garnered a reputation for her calm nature. This is a great way to inculcate similar values in the people of our society and to create awareness among the hockey stars from all around the world about the beloved wildlife associated with our state of Jharkhand,” said Soren.

The event held at Project Bhawan in Ranchi also marked the launch of the trophy tour for the tournament. The magnificent trophy will begin the tour on Friday from Ranchi and will travel across all 24 districts of the state. The trophy tour will culminate on October 25, 2023, with the trophy returning to Ranchi, ahead of the start of the tournament.

Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023 will take place from October 27 to November 5. India will be competing in the tournament along with Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Savita will lead the Indian women's hockey team as captain, with Deep Grace Ekka as her deputy. India will open their campaign in the tournament against Thailand on October 27.

Hemant Soren, thanking the FIH (international hockey federation) said that half of the women’s hockey team of India is comprised of girls from Jharkhand.

“The Indian women hockey team is not complete without members from Jharkhand. We are working to improve sports in such a manner that in future no sports team of the country would be complete without players from Jharkhand. We would also be hosting national and international competition of others sports in our state,” said Soren.

Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey, who was also present at the mascot unveiling programme, said: "We came up with the concept of the mascot keeping the culture of the public in mind. We wanted to draw attention to the wildlife present in the state of Jharkhand and develop a mascot that everyone can relate to, and want to know more about."