Men’s Hockey: Sreejesh, Raghu rested for Azlan

With five months to go for the Rio Olympics, Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member Indian hockey squad for the upcoming 25th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia, from April 6 to 16.

Hockey India’s selectors decided to rest seven senior players from the Hockey World League Final team.

In a move to test bench strength, young custodian Akash Chikte replaced P.R. Sreejesh even as midfielder S.K. Uthappa and the strike duo of Mandeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah staged a comeback. Surender Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh are the other new names.

The selectors left out striker Akashdeep Singh, midfielder Dharamvir Singh, drag-flicker V.R. Raghunath and defender Birendra Lakra. Devindar Walmiki and Lalit Upadahyay were the other two not selected. “India have a good record in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and we would like to keep it that way. It will be a good opportunity trying out new things and new combinations in the tournament to see if they work,” Sardar said in a statement.

Coach Roelant Oltmans said, “The boys have been working hard and are geared up for the tournament ahead. The Azlan Shah will be a good testing ground for us before the Rio Olympics.”

The men’s team are currently undergoing a training camp at the SAI, South Centre, here.

Team: Goalkeepers: Harjot Singh, Akash Chikte; Defenders: Rupinder Pal Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Kothajit Singh, Surender Singh, Harmanpreet Singh; Midfielders: Danish Mujtaba, Chinglensana Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh (c), S.K. Uthappa, Harjeet Singh; Forwards: Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, S.V. Sunil (vc), Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah