ONI Bureau: Hockey India on Monday named the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team for the upcoming U23 Six Nations Tournament to be held from 14th – 21st July 2018 in Antwerp, Belgium.
The 18-member team will be captained by the Odisha hockey player Dipsan Tirkey while Hardik Singh will shoulder the duties of Vice-Captain.
Other players from Odisha defender Nilam Sanjeep Xess and forward Shilanand Lakra have also been included in the Indian squad.
The Indian team is scheduled to play a total of five round-robin matches against Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, Malaysia and Netherlands. The top two teams at the end of the round-robin matches will face each other in the Final on July 21 whereas the remaining teams will play classification matches.
The 18-member team includes Goalkeepers Pankaj Kumar Rajak and Prashant Kumar Chauhan, defenders Dipsan Tirkey, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Pardeep Singh, Mandeep Mor, Somjeet and Mohd. Faraz; while the midfield will be handled by Hardik Singh, Dharminder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Vishal Antil and Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem. The forward line will feature Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Abharan Sudev Belimagga, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen and Mohammad Umar. The Indian team will play their opening match against Ireland on July 14.