India Junior Men Team announced for 5th Sultan of Johor Cup to be played in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

New Delhi, 28 September 2015: Hockey India today announced the India Junior Men squad for the upcoming 5th Sultan of Johor Cup to be played in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from 11th to 18th October 2015. The Junior Men Team, led by proficient Captain Harjeet Singh with the support of Dipsan Tirkey as the Vice- Captain, is all geared up for the all important tournament and will be seen playing alongside Australia, Great Britain, Argentina, Pakistan and Malaysia. Being the two times defending champions the team will look at retaining its title by giving a tough fight to the opponents.

The 18-member squad, post finishing fourth in the recently culminated Volvo Invitational U-21 (Men) Tournament 2015 will be looking to bounce back to claim the title in the upcoming 5th Sultan of Johor Cup. The inaugural match will be etched in the minds of the spectators as India will contest their first match against arch-rival Pakistan, aiming to open the tourney on an endearing note.

Speaking on the team line-up, Captain Harjeet Singh said, “We are the defending champions and the boys are excited about retaining the title. We are not allowing pressure to take over us. The team is in a very good shape and confident to perform as per expectations in the upcoming 5th Sultan of Johor Cup. We are undergoing scrupulous training sessions and we feel huge improvement in the way we are passing the ball to each other and the way we are working on converting on opportunities. Also, we are effectively working on rectifying the mistakes committed in the previous tournaments which will help us to achieve desired goals.”

Commenting on the team's preparation, Coach Harendra Singh said, “The boys are confident of the tournament ahead and they aim to retain the title. Our opening match is against Pakistan and the boys are excited about their clash against them. The team has worked on their game as per each teams' performance in the recent past. We have spent time watching past videos, understanding where all did we make mistakes and how well do we ensure that the same is not repeated. The team is all geared up face the challenge ahead.”

List of Players -

GOALKEEPERS

1. Suraj Karkera
2. Vikas Dahiya

DEFENDERS

3. Varun Kumar
4. Dipsan Tirkey - Vice Captain
5. Anand Lakra
6. Vikramjit Singh
7. Harmanpreet Singh

MIDFIELDERS

8. Nilakanta Sharma
9. Harjeet Singh - Captain
10. Santa Singh
11. Simranjeet Singh
12. Manpreet

FORWARDS

13. Arman Qureshi
14. Gurjant Singh
15. Ajay Yadav
16. Parvinder Singh
17. Sumit Kumar
18. Ajit Kumar Pandey

Match Schedule