Five from UP make it to Jr India hockey team
LUCKNOW:As many as five players from Uttar Pradesh on Monday made it to the 18-member Indian junior men’s hockey team for the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup, scheduled to take place from October 12 to 19 in Malaysia. They are: Rahul Kumar Rajbhar, Uttam Singh, Vishnu Kant Singh, Sharda Nand Tiwari and Prashant Kumar Chauhan.
The team will be captained by Mandeep Mor and vice-captained by Sanjay, and will face off against Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Great Britain in the round-robin league stage.
Forward Rajbhar is an ex-inmate of the Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, other forward Uttam is from the Sports Authority of India, goalkeeper Prashant belongs to Sports Hostel, midfielder Vishnu is an ex-trainee of the Sports Authority of India, whereas defender Shardanand is an ex-trainee of the KD Singh Babu Society.
“It’s a big achievement as in a team of 18, there are five players from the state,” Babu Society’s coach Mohd Rashid said on Monday. In fact, Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem and Shardanand are the new additions to the Indian junior men’s hockey team’s defense since the 8-Nations Tournament in June, while the experienced Dilpreet Singh joins the forward line.
The team will be hoping to improve their performance in the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup after finishing 6th at the 8-Nations Tournament. Coach BJ Kariappa expressed that the players have trained extremely hard during the national Camp at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru Campus and are raring to face top sides in the tournament.
“The 9th Sultan of Johor Cup will be a fantastic experience for the junior team since top sides such as Australia and Great Britain will be taking part in the competition. The players have been put through strenuous training at the Sports Authority of India and have improved their skills tremendously,” said Kariappa.
“However, the players will have to find a way to apply their learning in the field and execute their plans. The 9th Sultan of Johor Cup is an excellent tournament for the players to gauge their talent and find out on which aspects they should improve on,” he added.
THE TEAM
Goalkeepers: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, Pawan.
Defenders: Sanjay (vice-captain), Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem, Pratap Lakra, Suman Beck, Mandeep Mor (captain), Yashdeep Siwach, Shardanand Tiwari. Midfielders: Vishnu Kant Singh, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Maninder Singh.
Forwards: Dilpreet Singh, Sudeep Chirmako, Gursahibjit Singh, Uttam Singh, Rahul Kumar Rajbhar, Shilanand Lakra.