U-21 Indian hockey team leaves for Sultan of Johor Cup

Defending champions India left here Thursday to take part in the fourth Sultan of Johor Cup, scheduled to take place at Johor Bahru in Malaysia Oct 12-19.

After their intense training sessions in the last few weeks, the Under-21 Indian men's team is geared up to face competition from Australia, Britain, Pakistan, New Zealand and hosts Malaysia.

The Indian team, comprising 18 members, will be led by captain Harjeet Singh with aggressive forward Imran Khan as his deputy.

"We are a new team but we have the same old dream to retain the Sultan of Johor Cup. We have been practicing as a single unit for the last few weeks and are confident on achieving the goal," Harjeet said.

India start their campaign against New Zealand Oct 12 before taking on Britain Oct 13, Pakistan Oct 15, Malaysia Oct 16 and Australia Oct 18.

"Our first match against New Zealand is crucial as starting a tournament on a winning note will boost the morale of the team and will help continue the winning dominance," added the skipper.

Coach Harendra Singh said: "The team is geared up for the Sultan of Johor Cup and the boys are confident to retain the title. Without carrying any burden of previous achievements, we will focus on playing high-level and technically sound hockey."

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Abhinav Kumar Pandey, Subodh Tirkey

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey, Anand Lakra, Varun Kumar, Gurinder Singh

Midfielders: Santa Singh, Sumit, Harjeet Singh (Captain), Nilkantha Sharma, Simranjeet Singh

Forwards: Imran Khan (vice-captain), Parvinder Singh, Pawan Kumar, Aarman Qureshi, Sumit Kumar.