NEW DELHI: Mid-fielder Gurbaz Singh will lead an 18-member Indian hockey squad in the upcoming Junior Asia Cup, to be held in Hyderabad from July 11.

The ad-hoc committee, formed to oversee hockey affairs in the country, made the announcement.

The committee’s five-member selection panel, headed by former Olympian Aslam Sher Khan, retained seven players from the Indian team, which won the silver medal at last month’s Azlan Shah Hockey tournament in Ipoh, Malaysia.

They have also named five stand-by players in case of an injury to any team member.
The committee, which also includes Jaffar Iqbal, Ashok Kumar, Ajit Pal Singh and Dhanraj Pillay, announced the squad after assessing the trials for three days under the watchful eyes of coach S P Bansal.

Earlier, the organisers were forced to reduce the length of the tournament by three-days after Thailand and China pulled out from the event in the last minute. The eight-nation tournament will now begin from July 11 instead of July 8 and will end on July 18.

The team: Goalkeepers: Sreejesh P R, Mrinal Chaubey Fullbacks: Diwakar Ram, Innocent Kullu, Manjeet Kullu Midfielders: Gurbaz Singh (Captain), Vivek, Ranjit Singh, Vikas Sharma, B Horro, Amandeep Ekka Forwards: Mandeep Antil, S V Sunil, Gurminder Singh, Jagwant Singh, Pramod, Roshan Minz, Danish Mujtaba Stand-by players: Harjit Singh (Goalkeeper), Samir Baxla (Fullback), Virender Lakra (Midfielder), Dharam Vir, Jujhar Singh (Forward) Coach: S P Bansal.