U23 Six Nations Tournament
Hockey India on Monday named the Indian Junior Men’s Hockey Team for the upcoming U23 Six Nations Tournament to be held from 14th – 21st July 2018 in Antwerp, Belgium.
The Indian team is scheduled to play a total of five round-robin matches against Ireland, Great Britain, Belgium, Malaysia and Netherlands. The top two teams at the end of the round-robin matches will face each other in the Final on July 21 whereas the remaining teams will play classification matches.
The 18-member team will be Captained by Dipsan Tirkey, while Hardik Singh will shoulder the duties of Vice-Captain. The team includes goalkeepers Pankaj Kumar Rajak and Prashant Kumar Chauhan, defenders Dipsan Tirkey, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Pardeep Singh, Mandeep Mor, Somjeet and Mohd. Faraz; while the midfield will be handled by Hardik Singh, Dharminder Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Vishal Antil and Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem. The forward line will feature Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Abharan Sudev Belimagga, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen and Mohammad Umar.
“The U23 Six Nations Tournament in Belgium will prove to be a good test for our younger players of the Core Group. We will be playing against some of the best youth teams from around the world, which will help in giving our players the exposure they require. This tour will also help in developing our team that will take part in the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup 2018 to be held in October later this year. It will be a crucial tournament for some of the athletes as this will be their first major international exposure, but the majority of the players have represented the Junior/ Senior Men’s Team which is always a good sign,” stated David John, Director, High Performance, Hockey India.
