Two of the five players who left the camp at Bangalore to attend the World Series Hockey function in last month failed to make it to the men's national squad for the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy to be held at Ordos, China.
Goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza and forward Prabhjot Singh, who were among the 48 probables at the second phase of the camp, were left out of the 18-member team announced on Tuesday by Hockey India (HI) for the September 3-11 event. Two other players - Sandeep Singh and Sardar Singh - were selected while Arjun Halappa pulled out of the camp because of an injury.
In the absence of Halappa, who led the team at the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia in May, the reigns were handed back to Rajpal Singh, who was unavailable for Azlan Shah.
Young drag flicker Rupinder Pal Singh, who made a mark in Azlan Shah, gets a chance to test his skills.
The selection committee comprising Col Balbir Singh, BP Govinda, AB Subbiah, Dilip Tirkey and Harbinder Singh have picked a number of youngsters in Harpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh (both from Punjab), Manjit Kullu of Railways, SV Sunil and Yuvraj Walmiki of Air India.
The midfield has been bolstered by the return of former India captain Ignace Tirkey of Services. However, the defence comprising Sandeep, Rupinder and Harpreet could be a concern for coach Michael Nobbs as only the last named looks solid but is short on experience.
{{/usCountry}}The midfield has been bolstered by the return of former India captain Ignace Tirkey of Services. However, the defence comprising Sandeep, Rupinder and Harpreet could be a concern for coach Michael Nobbs as only the last named looks solid but is short on experience.
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