Sandeep, Adrian fail to make cut

Selectors infuse new blood; drag-flicker Diwakar too dropped

Also missing from the squad to be captained by Rajpal Singh is another drag-flick specialist Diwakar Ram, as the selectors decided to give chance to some new players.
Striker Gurvinder Singh Chandi also failed to find a place in the squad for the May 6-16 event. Senior players Prabhjot Singh and Deepak Thakur had been dropped earlier from the probables’ list.

The players were selected after a two-day trial at Balewadi, Pune. The trials were attended by Hockey India selectors BP Govinda, Balbir Singh, Madhu Yadav and Sita Mehta and government observers Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal.

“The selectors and coaches unanimously decided to give chance to some new promising players in this tournament,” a Hockey India release said. “It has also been decided to put a core management team for all overseas series and tournaments as well as domestic matches. This committee shall comprise coaches, captain and team manager who will decide on the playing composition of the squad before every match,” it added.
India are champions four times having won the titles in 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2009.

The squad: Goalkeepers: Sreejesh PR, Bharat Chetri. Defenders: Sardar Singh, Dhananjay Mahadik, Amit Prabhakar, Rupinder Pal Singh. Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh, Ravi Pal Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Bharat Chikara, Vikas Pillay, Danish Mujtaba. Forwards: Rajpal Singh (capt), Tushar Khandker, Shivendra Singh, Mandip Antil, Arjun Halappa, Sarvanjit Singh. Standbys: Jaswinder Singh, Ajitesh Roy, Vikas Sharma, Bikas Toppo.
Officials: Jose Brasa (Head Coach); Harendra Singh (Coach); Clarence Lobo (Coach); Gundeep Kumar (Coach).

Match Schedule: May 6: India v China. May 7: India v Pakistan. May 9: India v South Korea. May 10: India v Australia. May 12: India v Malaysia. May 15: India v Egypt. May 16: 3-4 position play-off and final.