BANGALORE: The Indian team will have 18 hockey players at the Olympic Village after all. In a move to keep the flock together, Hockey India has successfully appealed to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to ensure that the two standbys stayed with the 16-member team at the Village.

The sports ministry, which is in the process of clearing the names for the London Games, is now faced with an expenditure of 800 pounds each for the two players — Sarvanjit Singh and Kothajit Singh. “The money will take care of their food at the Village. Originally, these boys were to have stayed in a London hotel but with access to training facilities along with the 16-member team,” a senior sports ministry official told TOI.