Sreejesh makes comeback, squad for 2018 named
Fit-again PR Sreejesh made a return after recovering from a long injury lay-off as Hockey India on Wednesday announced a 33-member squad for the first national camp beginning in Bangalore on Wednesday.
Sreejesh will be is vying to find top form after nearly eight months of break due to a knee injury. He had suffered a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury during the Azlan Shah tournament last year.
After ending the year with a bronze at the Hockey World League Final, the team will report for the 10-day camp here to prepare for the busy calendar.
Goalkeeper Krishan B Pathak, part of the winning 2016 Jr World Cup team, finds himself in the group along with
Akash Anil
Chikte and Suraj
Karkera who had promising outing at the
Asia Cup and contributed to India’s success at the Hockey World League Final. Nilam Sanjeep Xess, the young defender from Sundargarh, Odisha who led India to U-18 Asia Cup win in 2016, has been elevated to the senior core group. He will train alongside stalwartSardarSingh,Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar and Gurinder Singh in the back line.
The midfield line-up remains unchanged with Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, SK Uthappa, Sumit, Kothajit Singh, Satbir Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Simranjeet Singh, Harjeet Singh in the group.
Young forward Sumit Kumar has been included in the camp with seniors SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Armaan Qureshi, Affan Yousuf and Talwinder Singh.
The 2018 schedule includes the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in April followed by the Champions Trophy in the Netherlands in July, the Jakarta Asian Games in August, Asian Champions Trophy in October and the World Cup in Bhubaneswar starting in November.
India will begin the season with the four-nation invitational tournament in Tauranga and Hamilton, New Zealand which will see Belgium, Japan and the hosts in the fray.
“The camp will be short...we need to be careful in training considering we play eight matches in New Zealand,” said coach Sjoerd Marijne. “The evaluation of the previous tournament needs to come from the players so that’s the first thing we do when we meet for this camp.”
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