Rajpal to lead India in Asian Champions Trophy

Forward Rajpal Singh was on Tuesday renamed as Indian hockey team’s captain for next month’s inaugural Asian Champions Trophy in Ordos, China.

Rajpal, who gave away the captaincy to Arjun Halappa in the Azlan Shah Cup earlier this year, will lead a relatively young 18-member Indian side the the tournament, being held from September 3-11.

In the Asian Champions Trophy, India will be missing the services of senior players like Halappa, Shivendra Singh, Dharamvir, Tushar Khandekar and Bharat Chikara, all of whom are down with injuries.

While Shivendra is recuperating from a collar bone fracture, Halappa and Khandkar are suffering from groin and ankle injuries respectively.

The squad announced by Hockey India selectors Col Balbir Singh, B.P. Govinda and A.B. Subbaiah along with government observers Harbinder Singh and Dilip Tirkey were selected after a two-day trial at Bengaluru on August 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, two of the five rebel players — ace drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and mid-fielder Sardara Singh — who were issued a show-cause notice by HI for attending a promotional event of World Series Hockey last month, have also found a place in the squad.

However, goalkeeper Adrian D’Souza and veteran forward Prabhjot Singh has been ignored by the selectors for the upcoming tournament, while Halappa is injured.

The 18-member Indian squad will have two goalkeepers, three defenders, five mid-fielders and eight forwards.

The selectors have also named six standby players for the tournament in which top six teams of last year’s Guangzhou Asian Games — Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, India, Japan and China will participate.