Asia camp for Indian men's hockey team begins in Bengaluru

The national camp of the Indian senior men’s hockey team for the upcoming Asia Cup got underway at the SAI South Centre in Bengaluru.

As many as 48 probables are going through the paces under the watchful eyes of newly-appointed head coach Roelant Oltmans, who took over from Australian Michael Nobbs.

Oltmans will be assisted in the month-long camp by former Indian player Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, who replaced the duo of Mohammed Riaz and Clarence Lobo.

Kaushik, who has been appointed till the 2016 Rio Olympics, will look to complement Oltmans, who has taken temporary charge of the men’s team after being initially appointed as a High Performance Manager.

Star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, who had an indifferent Hockey World League Round 3 campaign in Rotterdam, is not among the 48 probables.

Experienced striker Shivendra Singh also misses out despite his decent performance in Rotterdam.

Talented striker Mandeep Singh, who was the top goal-scorer in the Rotterdam event, is kept out of the 48 probables as the national hockey selectors are keen to blood him in the national junior team for the 2013 Junior World Cup, which is slated to be held in New Delhi this December.

Another striker Malak Singh has been asked to attend the junior camp.

Drag-flicker Gurjinder Singh is also not considered and has been asked to attend the junior team camp for the upcoming World Cup.

The 9th Asia Cup to be held in Ipoh from August 24 will be India’s last opportunity to grab a berth in the 2014 World Cup.

India’s qualifying route is expected to be a bumpy ride as many as three Asian teams – Pakistan, Korea and Malaysia will be fighting it out for the lone continental berth.

Young striker Yuvraj Walmiki continues to be consigned to the sidelines.

Probables:

Goalkeepers: P.R. Sreejesh, P.T. Rao, Sreenivasa Rao Katharu, Nanak Singh, Naveen Kumar, Jagdeep Dayal, Abhinay Kumar Pandey;

Defenders: V.R. Raghunath, Rupinderpal Singh, Harbir Singh Sandhu, Amit Rohidas, Sampath Kumar Maylaram, Gagandeep Singh, Dayananda Chanamthabam, Narinder Pal Singh, Gurmail Singh;

Midfielders: Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, M.B. Aiyappa, Kothajit Singh, Pardeep Mor, Vivek Dhar, Birendra Lakra, Jaspreet Singh, Simranjit Singh, Manjit Kullu, Vikas Pillay, Sumit

Forwards: S.V. Sunil, Gurwinder Singh Chandi, Chinglensana Singh, Danish Mujtaba, S.K. Uthappa, Pradhan Sommanna, Nithin Thimmaiah, Dharamvir Singh, Akashdeep Singh, M.G. Poonacha, Prabhdeep Singh, P.L. Thimmanna, Sukhdev Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Jasjeet Singh, Nikin Thimmaiah, Harmanpreet Singh, Manjinder Singh, M.K. Muddappa, Gagandeep Singh