Sardara rested, Manpreet to lead India at Asian Hockey CT

New Delhi: India skipper Sardara Singh has been rested for 3rd Asian Champions Trophy as Hockey India (HI) announced a young 18-member squad, to be led by midfielder Manpreet Singh, for the tournament in Kakamigahara, Japan from November 2-10.

Manpreet led India admirably during the 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup and guided the junior team to victory in Ipoh. The upcoming tournament will be good preparations for the Junior World Cup, scheduled in December and the squad includes 13 players from the side that won the colts` title recently. Kothajit Singh has been named the vice-captain for the six-nation tournament that involves China, Japan, Malaysia, Oman and Pakistan. India will open their campaign against China on November 2, followed by matches against Japan (Nov 3), Oman (Nov 5), Pakistan (Nov 7) and Malaysia (Nov 8). India, who won the inaugural competition, finished the runners-up after losing to Pakistan 4-5 in the final in 2012. HI selectors B P Govinda, R P Singh and Arjun Halappa, Roelant Oltmans, Director High Performance, Gregg Clark, foreign coach junior men team and Baljeet Singh Saini, coach junior men team alongwith government Observer Harbinder Singh selected the squad during the trials conducted at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here on October 9-10. "The Asian Champions Trophy gives us an opportunity to allow our junior players to showcase their skills and gain experience in the international environment," HI Secretary General Narinder Batra said. List of players: Goalkeepers: Sushant Tirkey, Harjot Singh; Defenders: Gurjinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Sukhmanjit Singh, Pardeep Mor; Midfielders: Prabhdeep Singh, Manpreet Singh (Capt), Satbir Singh, Harjeet Singh, Imran Khan, Kothajit Singh (Vice-Capt); Forwards: Malak Singh, Mandeep Singh, Talwinder Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh. Standbys: Jagdeep Dayal (Goalkeeper), Gagandeep Singh (Defender), Jarmanpreet Singh (Defender), Lalit Upadhyay (Midfielder), Affan Yousuf (Forward), Amon Mirash Tirkey (Forward).