Hockey India names 39-man core probable group ahead of South Africa Tour

New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS) Hockey India on Tuesday named a 39-member core group for the men's national coaching camp that begins on Wednesday at Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru.

The short 11-day camp will be held ahead of the team’s departure for Cape Town, South Africa where they will take part in a 4 Nation Tournament to be played against France, the Netherlands and hosts South Africa.

The Test event in South Africa, as part of the team’s preparations for the Paris Olympic Games, will provide a good exposure ahead of India’s FIH Hockey Pro League campaign opener in Odisha this February where they will take on Australia, the Netherlands, Spain and Ireland in double-header games.

The core group for the National Coaching Camp includes goalkeepers Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, Pawan Malik, and Prashant Kumar Chauhan. Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Sanjay, Yashdeep Siwach, Dipsan Tirkey, and Manjeet has been named as defenders.

The midfielders called up to the camp include Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen and Maninder Singh. The list of forwards includes S. Karthi, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, and Pawan Rajbhar.

Talking about the upcoming camp, Indian Men’s Hockey Team Chief Coach Craig Fulton said: "I believe the players are returning fresh from a good break with their families for the holiday season. We begin the hockey season for the year with the South Africa Tour and from here on it will only get busier with regular games leading up to the Paris Olympics. Our core group is quite solid with experienced players and some of them named in this group will also be playing the FIH Hockey5s World Cup in Muscat, Oman."

"As always, this camp too will be focused on getting better as a team and we are eager to get on with the season," he added.

List of players in India’s 39-member core-probable group:

Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, Pawan Malik, and Prashant Kumar Chauhan

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Sanjay, Yashdeep Siwach, Dipsan Tirkey, Manjeet

Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen and Maninder Singh

Forwards: S. Karthi, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Pawan Rajbhar.