Indian hockey team to play in Hamburg Masters
NEW DELHI: An Indian hockey team captained by Rajpal Singh will participate in the four-nation Hamburg Masters tournament in Germany July 2-4.
India will compete against the Netherlands, Japan and the hosts.
The tournament will be followed by a Test series in Belgium, France and Holland.
India will play three Tests against Belgium July 5-16 and then take on France July 17-21 in another three match series. They will wind up their Europe tour with two Tests against the Dutch July 24-25, Hockey India (HI) said in a statement.
Two changes have been made in the squad that was declared the joint winners at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup at Ipoh, Malaysia last month. Striker Shivendra Singh, who injured his ankle, and midfielder Arjun Halappa have been rested.
Dragflicker Sandeep Singh, midfielder Ajitesh Roy and forward Hari Prasad have made a comeback while promising youngster Birendra Lakra gets his first look into the senior squad.
The team was selected after trials at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune. The trial was attended by selectors Balbir Singh, B.P. Govinda and Sita Mehta; government nominees Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal; foreign coach Jose Brasa and national coach Harendra Singh.
Squad:
Defenders: Sardar Singh, Dhananjay Mahadik, Rupinder Pal Singh, Sandeep Singh, Amit Prabhakar
Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh, Ravi Pal, Prabodh Tirkey, Ajitesh Roy, Bharat Chikara, Danish Mujtaba, Vikas Pillay, Birendra Lakra Jr.
Forwards: Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandker, Sarvanjit Singh, Mandip Antil, Mohd. Amir Khan, Hari Prasad, Dharamvir Singh
Goalkeepers: P.R. Sreejesh, Bharat Chetri.