New Delhi: Hockey India Sunday named 22 players for the national coaching camp ahead of the crucial FIH Olympic Qualifiers to be held November 1 and 2 in Bhubaneswar.
The players will report to chief coach Graham Reid for the camp that commences from Monday at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
The team is coming from a successful Belgium Tour where they beat the hosts thrice (2-0, 2-1, 5-1) and also emerged victorious twice against Spain (6-1, 5-1).
They will take on Russia in the crucial two-match Tokyo Olympic Qualifiers next month.
“I think the wins in Belgium surely contribute to the team’s confidence going into the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. There were a lot of take aways from the tour and I am confident the team is ready for the challenge against Russia,” Reid said in a statement.
He further stated that playing teams like Belgium and Spain would put the Indian team in good stead ahead of the qualifier against Russia.
“It was a good tour as the team showed good intensity and were able to score from penalty corners and field goals. Playing quality teams like Belgium and Spain definitely helps ahead of a crucial tie. The next few weeks at camp will be more about keeping up our momentum and getting used to the playing conditions in Bhubaneswar,” Reid said.
Squad: PR Sreejesh (GK), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Simranjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh.
PTI