Sultan of Johor Cup: Preview of India's tournament opener against arch-rivals Pakistan

The Indian squad will look to make it three in a row

As the hours count to down to the 5th Sultan of Johor Cup, a young Indian team will look to be the best version of themselves in their first match against historical rivals Pakistan. The Under-21 Blue Sticks are defending champions having won the last two editions of the tournament and will look to make it a hat-trick of trophies.

The 18-member squad will have talented midfielder Harjeet Singh at the helm with defender Dipsan Tirkey as his lieutenant. Quite a few Members of last year’s championship winning team are part of the current squad.

In a statement to thefansofhockey.com, Harjeet Singh echoed the optimism in the team, saying, “We are the defending champions and the boys are excited about retaining the title. We are not allowing pressure to get to us. The team is in very good shape and confident to perform as per expectations. We are undergoing scrupulous training sessions and feel huge improvement in the way we are passing the ball to each other and working on converting on opportunities. Also, we are effectively working on rectifying mistakes committed in the previous tournament and which will help us to achieve desired goals.”

Veteran coach Harendra Singh is in charge of mentoring the young squad and has faith that his boys are well-armed to deal with what lies ahead. He said, “The boys are confident of the tournament ahead and they aim to retain the title. Our opening match is against Pakistan and the boys are excited about their clash against them. The team has worked on their game as per each teams' performance in the recent past. We have spent time watching past videos, understanding where all did we make mistakes and how well do we ensure that the same is not repeated. The team is all geared up face the challenge ahead."

After going up against the Green Sticks, India will face Argentina (October 14), Malaysia (October 15) and Australia (October 17). The 18-member Indian squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Suraj Karkera, Vikas Dahiya

Defenders: Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey(VC), Anand Lakra, Vikramjit Singh, Harmanpreet Singh

Midfielders: Nilakanta Sharma, Harjeet Singh(C), Santa Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Manpreet

Forwards: Arman Qureshi, Gurjant Singh, Ajay Yadav, Parvinder Singh, Sumit Kumar, Ajit Kumar Pandey

A skilled bunch, as evidenced by not only their two previous trophies, but also their price tag in the recently concluded Hockey India League auctions. Defender Harmanpreet Singh fetched a handsome $ 51,000, while vice-captain Dipsan Tirkey was sold for $31,000 and Parvinder Singh drew $29,000.

More than half the Pakistan team have represented their team at the international level:

Goalkeepers: Talal Khalid and Ali Haider

S: Mubashir Baig, Faisal Shah and Atif Mushtaq.

Defenders: Mubashir Baig, Faisal Shah and Atif Mushtaq.

Midfielders: Faizan Jonty, Abu Bakhar, Mohammad Qasim, Sikandar Mustafa, M Adnan and Junaid Kamal.

Forwards: Shan Irshad, Azfar Yaqoob, Dilbar Hussain (Captain), Fahad, Sohail Riaz, M Atiq, Bilal Qadir, Adnan Anwar, Mohammad Naveed and Rizwan.

Reserves: Ali Raza. Full back: Zahidullah. Half back: Asfand Yaar. Forwards: Sohail Anjum, Mohsin Sabir.