<p>Hockey India has rested a few men's senior players for the Olympic Test event scheduled from August 17-21 in Japan.</p>.<p>Captain Manpreet Singh, senior goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Surender Kumar have been given a break, which chief coach Graham Reid believes will help them shake off any niggling injuries ahead of the Olympic qualifying matches in November.</p>.<p>In their absence, the 18-member squad features Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh as the captain and vice-captain respectively. Two players -- Ashis Topno and Shamsher Singh -- have earned their debut spots in the national team. Meanwhile, experienced striker SV Sunil has returned to the national team after a gap of nine months.</p>.<p>"We are resting some senior players, some of whom have had a very rigorous last 12 months of hockey. We will give them a chance to shake off any niggling injuries and get fresh for the next three months of preparation for the November qualifying matches," said Reid.</p>.<p>Reid said the Olympic Test Event would give a few players a chance to show their mettle at the international stage. "With no world ranking points at risk, the Tokyo test event gives us an ideal opportunity to not only get a first hand look at how Tokyo is shaping up for next year’s Olympics, we will also see some players who have not had a chance to show us what they can do on the international stage," said Reid.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>The squad:</strong></span> Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Gurinder Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Jaskaran Singh, Mandeep Singh (vice-captain), Gursahibjit Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Ashis Topno, SV Sunil, Gurjant Singh, Shamsher Singh, Suraj Karkera.</p>
<p>Hockey India has rested a few men's senior players for the Olympic Test event scheduled from August 17-21 in Japan.</p>.<p>Captain Manpreet Singh, senior goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Surender Kumar have been given a break, which chief coach Graham Reid believes will help them shake off any niggling injuries ahead of the Olympic qualifying matches in November.</p>.<p>In their absence, the 18-member squad features Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh as the captain and vice-captain respectively. Two players -- Ashis Topno and Shamsher Singh -- have earned their debut spots in the national team. Meanwhile, experienced striker SV Sunil has returned to the national team after a gap of nine months.</p>.<p>"We are resting some senior players, some of whom have had a very rigorous last 12 months of hockey. We will give them a chance to shake off any niggling injuries and get fresh for the next three months of preparation for the November qualifying matches," said Reid.</p>.<p>Reid said the Olympic Test Event would give a few players a chance to show their mettle at the international stage. "With no world ranking points at risk, the Tokyo test event gives us an ideal opportunity to not only get a first hand look at how Tokyo is shaping up for next year’s Olympics, we will also see some players who have not had a chance to show us what they can do on the international stage," said Reid.</p>.<p class="ListBody"><span class="bold"><strong>The squad:</strong></span> Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Gurinder Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Jaskaran Singh, Mandeep Singh (vice-captain), Gursahibjit Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Ashis Topno, SV Sunil, Gurjant Singh, Shamsher Singh, Suraj Karkera.</p>