Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Defender Mandeep Mor will lead the 18-member Indian Junior Men’s Hockey team for the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup scheduled to be held from 12th to 19th October in Malaysia.
Another defender Sanjay has been named vice captain of the team which will face off against Malaysia, New Zealand, Japan, Australia and Great Britain in the round-robin league stage.
The team includes Goalkeepers Prashant Kumar Chauhan and Pawan, Defenders Sanjay, Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem, Pratap Lakra, Suman Beck, Mandeep Mor, Yashdeep Siwach and Sharda Nand Tiwari.
The Midfielders called-up for the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup are Vishnu Kant Singh, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem and Maninder Singh.
The Forwards include Dilpreet Singh, Sudeep Chirmako, Gursahibjit Singh, Uttam Singh, Rahul Kumar Rajbhar and Shilanand Lakra.
Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem and Sharda Nand Tiwari 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 certainly hoping to improve their performance in the 9th Sultan of Johor Cup after finishing 6th at the 8-Nations tournament.
Coach B J Kariappa expressed that the players have trained extremely hard during the Coaching Camp at the Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru Campus and are raring to face top sides in the Johor Cup.
“The 9th Sultan of Johor Cup will be a fantastic experience for the players 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.
“However, the players will have to find a way to apply their learnings 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,” said Kariappa.