Seven from UP among 48 probables for Indian team
LUCKNOW: Following their success at the recently concluded 5th Senior National Men’s Hockey Championship at Pune, when Uttar Pradesh finished runners-up losing to Railways in a thriller, seven players from the state have made it to the 48-probables chosen for the preparatory camp of the Indian men team for the FIH Hockey World League semi-final.
The world league semi-finals to be played from June 20 to July 5 at Antwerp, Belgium and the chances of players making the cut of 18-member would be depended on their performance during the camp, which is beginning on Saturday in New Delhi, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
The seven UP players in the camp include goal-keeper Abhinav Pandey, defender Sunil Yadav, midfielders Danish Mujtaba, Vikas Sharma, Imran Khan and forwards Lalit Upadhyay and Amir Khan.
“It’s a record for UP hockey after many years as I don’t remember when the last time such huge number of players from the state made it to among the probable for the Indian team,” UP Hockey secretary RP Singh told HT, adding, “It was possible only because of players good showing at the nationals in recent days.” Singh, who also happens to be one of the national selectors, confessed that the selection of the players was done purely on the basis of the merit. “UP men broke all the previous records in the domestic tournament and made it to the final for the first time. It was a great achievement and boys deserved to get their dues,” he added.
All the 48-players in the camp would be gauged on their skills and how they play under pressure. Post a week training session of the camp, the top 33 core probable’s will be identified along with the team for the Indian squad to play for the FIH Hockey World League Semi-Final in Belgium.
The 48 players are part of the initial camp will see players getting picked up from the recently culminated National Championship and include names like Akash Chikte who is a promising goalkeeper and was declared the one of the Upcoming Players of the Tournament for the Senior Men National Championship 2015.
The Indian men team have gained a significant experience from the recently concluded India-Japan Test Series in Bhubaneswar where they won the series by 3-0. The Indian team experimented with new strategies and team combinations, which yielded them positive results.
Commenting on the new faces who will be part of the camp, Roelant Oltmans, Director High Performance, Hockey India said, “It is nice to see new boys getting a chance to prove their worth and potential.”