New Delhi: Goalkeeper Bharat Chetri will lead India's men's hockey team in the Olympic qualifiers beginning here at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium from February 18 to 26.
The notable absentees from the squad of 18 were former captain Rajpal Singh, who is still not match-fit after an appendix surgery, while midfielder Arjun Halappa could only make it to the list of four standbys alongside Manjeet Kullu, VS Vinaya and Chinglensana Singh.
"The Indian team was selected on the basis of performances of the core group of probables during the recently concluded India-South Africa Test Series by Hockey India Selectors, Olympians Col. Balbir Singh, BP Govinda and Syed Ali, along with government observers Harbinder Singh and Dilip Tirkey," the media release by Hockey India read.
India will host the Olympic qualifiers for both men and women in the capital. The women's team is scheduled to be named later this week.
The Indian team will be up against Canada, France, Italy, Poland and Singapore, who replaced USA after they withdrew from the tournament in the eleventh hour. The winner will go on to play at the London Olympics in July-August later this year.
India open their campaign against Singapore on February 18.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Bharat Chetri (Captain), PR Sreejesh
Defenders: Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath, Rupinderpal Singh
Midfielders: Sardar Singh (vice captain), Manpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Ignace Tirkey, Kothajit Singh
Forwards: SV Sunil, Sarvanjit Singh, Shivendra Singh, Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Tushar Khandker, Danish Mujtaba, Yuvraj Walmiki, SK Uthappa
Standbys: Manjeet Kullu (defender), VS Vinaya (midfielder), Arjun Halappa (midfielder), Chinglensana Singh (forward)
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