Bengaluru: Sardar Singh will lead the 18-member Indian squad for the Hero Hockey World League finals scheduled to be held at the Raipur International Stadium, Chhattisgarh from November 27 to December 6. The Hero Hockey World League final is the biggest international tournament in 2015 and will feature eight top international contenders.
The India squad includes two goalkeepers in P.R. Sreejesh and Harjot Singh, while defenders, include Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, VR Raghunath, Jasjit Singh Kular and Rupinder Pal Singh. Sardar Singh alongside Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Devinder Walmiki, Manpreet Singh, Dharamvir Singh and Danish Mujtaba would form a strong pool for the midfield while SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay and Talwinder Singh would lead India’s attack for the upcoming tournament.
The Indian team is slated for a three match test series against the mighty Australians from the 19th to 23rd November 2015 in Rajnandgaon and Raipur in Chhattisgarh before starting their campaign for the much awaited Hero Hockey World League final 2015.
“The team has been together in the camp for quite a while and they are showing tremendous progress. The test series with Australia will help us evaluate our strengths and weaknesses before going into the Hero Hockey World League Finals. We are excited and there is high degree of positivity within the boys and that gives all of us a lot of confidence. We are confident of playing some competitive hockey and hope to produce the best result in the league” said Roelant Oltmans, High Performance Director & Chief Coach, India Men’s Hockey team, who has been guiding the team since the beginning of the national camp on 26th of October 2015.
Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Hockey India said, “ The Hero Hockey World League final is going to be our first test for us enroute to the Rio Olympics next year. It will give us a good perspective to our position as we would be testing our best players against the world’s best, with all the teams in the Hero Hockey World League Finals having secured 2016 Olympic qualification. With a robust coaching staff that we have set up for the team I am confident that we will see some great hockey at display from our boys. The test series against Australia is the ideal warm up that the team can get ahead of the Hero Hockey World league finals.”
The India – Australia series will begin on 19th November with the first match in Rajnandgaon and consecutive matches at Raipur on 22nd and 23rd November. The Hockey World league finals will immediately follow the test series with world’s top eight teams meeting each other for the last time before the Rio Olympics next year.
The Indian Squad for the India – Australia test series and the hero Hockey World League Finals are –
Goalkeepers
1. P.R. Sreejesh (Vice Captain)
2. Harjot Singh
Defenders
3. Birendra Lakra
4. Kothajit SIngh
5. VR Raghunath
6. Jasjit Singh Kular
7. Rupinder Pal Singh
Midfielders
8. Sardar Singh (Captain)
9. Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
10. Devinder Walmiki
11. Manpreet Singh
12. Dharamvir Singh
13. Danish Mujtaba
Forwards
14. SV Sunil
15. Ramandeep Singh
16. Akashdeep Singh
17. Lalit Upadhyay
18. Talwinder Singh
