Selvam Karthi named in India’s squad for Australia tour

Hockey India on Monday named the 24-member Indian men’s hockey team for the four-match Tour of Australia from 15th August to 21st August in Perth. This will be an exposure tour ahead of the all-important Asia Cup in Rajgir from 29th August which is a World Cup Qualifier.

The Indian team will be led by ace dragflicker, defender Harmanpreet Singh and will feature Krishan Pathak and Suraj Karkera as goalkeepers. Defenders in the squad along with Harmanpreet are Sumit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Amit Rohidas, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jugraj Singh while Karnataka’s Poovanna CB comes in as a fresh face in the squad.

Talented young midfielder Rajinder Singh, who is often likened to stalwart former India Captain Sardar Singh, has been named in the squad as midfielder along with Raj Kumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Vishnu Kant Singh while Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Selvam Karthi and Aditya Lalage will join them as forwards.

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Speaking about the importance of this tour ahead of the Asia Cup, head coach Craig Fulton said, “We are heading to Perth to sharpen up ahead of the Asia Cup in Bihar. The focus will be on improving our physical conditioning and technical execution through quality training and warm up matches.”

Fulton also spoke about testing youngsters in the squad and giving them the exposure ahead of important outings. He said, “We have brought in some younger players to give them valuable exposure and test combinations under pressure. This camp is a key part of our preparation and a chance to build individual and team momentum before competing at home.”

The Indian team will leave for Australia on August 8 from Bengaluru where it is currently training at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus.