Striker Dilpreet returns to senior fold, included in national hockey camp

Young striker Dilpreet Singh was on Saturday included in a 32-member men's core probables group for a two-week national coaching camp ahead of next month's Hockey Pro League, to be held in Bhubaneswar.

The 32 members, announced by Hockey India, will report to chief coach Graham Reid for the two-week camp ahead of their Pro League debut against the Netherlands on January 18 and 19.

Dilpreet, who was last part of the Indian senior team at the 2018 men's World Cup, returned to the senior core group following his worthy performance at this year's Sultan of Johor Cup, where the Indian colts won a silver medal.

Youngsters Shilanand Lakra, Rajkumar Pal, Nilam Sanjeep Xess and Dipsan Tirkey have also been included in the probables list for the national camp to be held at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium.

The core group, featuring a mix of experienced and young players, also has PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bhadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma and Vivek Sagar Prasad.

Experienced mid-fielder Chinglensana Singh, who was last seen in action during the 2018 men's World Cup, also returns to the core group after nearly 10 months of injury break.

S V Sunil, who was named Player of the tournament at the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in November, is also part of the core group along with Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh,Jaskaran Singh, Gurjant Singh and Sumit.

"I believe all the players will return fresh for the camp after a good break for Christmas. The previous national coaching camp in Bhubaneswar was physically challenging where we expected the players to push their limits. It involved a lot of strength and conditioning work apart from hockey," chief coach Reid said.

"The next two weeks will be focused on our preparations for the matches against the Netherlands and our real test begins now," he added.

List of 32-member pobables for national coaching camp: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam,
Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Simranjeet Singh,
Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay,
Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey,