New Delhi, Apr 10: The Indian Hockey Federation sprang a surprise by naming a few unheralded players for the forthcoming twin tournaments in Australia this month in the lead up to the Olympic Games in Athens. Several senior players including Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon were not included in the 18-member squad which will play two tournaments in Canberra and Sydney from April 14 to 18 and Apr 21 to 25 respectively.

Both the strikers Pillay and Dhillon were not part of the 22-member probables list announced by the IHF last week.

"Players like Pillay and Dhillon are vastly experienced and so they can join the team at any moment. The move to give the youngsters a chance in Australia is aimed at giving them exposure before the Olympics," chief coach Rajinder Singh told here.
For rookie players like Raju, Jatinder Pal Singh and Sunil Yadav, this will be their first international event at the senior level.

Rajinder said players like Harpal Singh and Ajit Pal Singh were part of various developmental teams in the past and would be tested during the upcoming tournaments.

"More than winning in Autralia, our focus is to develop the side for Olympics. We would be working on certain areas like drag flick conversion and mid-field and the young players would be getting a chance to prove their potential." Also missing from the squad is mid-fielder Vikram Pillay. Bureau Report