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New Delhi, April 24 (IANS) Drag flickers Sandeep Singh and Diwakar Ram and goalkeeper Adrian D'Souza have been axed from the 18-member Indian hockey squad for the 19th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be played May 6-16 at Ipoh, Malaysia.
The selectors said they wanted to give an opportunity to young players.
'It was unanimously decided by the selectors and coaches to give a chance to some new promising players for this tournament,' Hockey India said in a statement.
Sandeep, Diwakar and Adrian were off colour in the hockey World Cup where India finished a disappointing eighth at home.
Defenders Amit Prabhakar, Rupinder Pal Singh and goalkeeper Bharat Chetri were chosen in their place.
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi has also been ignored and Mandip Antil has got a place in the squad.
Two other senior players, Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh, were left out from the probables list for the tournament.
The team was selected after trials April 22-23 at Balewadi, Pune. The trials were attended by selection committee members B.P. Govinda, Balbir Singh, Madhu Yadav and Sita Mehta in the presence of government observers Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal.
India are four time Azlan Shah champions, having won the title in 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2009.
Hockey India have also decided to put a core management team for all overseas series and tournaments as well as domestic matches. The committee will comprise coaches, the captain and the team manager, who will decide on the playing composition of the squad before every match.
Meanwhile, the coaching camp at Pune will continue till May 15 with the rest of the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games core probables under the charge of Romeo James. A special penalty corner clinic will also be conducted under the guidance of Jugraj Singh.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Sreejesh PR (Indian Overseas Bank), Bharat Chetri (Canara Bank)
Defenders: Sardar Singh (Haryana Police), Dhananjay Mahadik (Services), Amit Prabhakar (Air India), Rupinder Pal Singh (Indian Oil)
Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh (Air India), Ravi Pal Singh (BPCL), Prabodh Tirkey (Air India), Bharat Chikara (Indian Oil), Vikas Pillay (Air India), Danish Mujtaba (UP)
Forwards: Rajpal Singh (Capt) (Indian Oil), Tushar Khandker (BPCL), Shivendra Singh (Air India), Mandip Antil (ONGC), Arjun Halappa (Air India), Sarvanjit Singh (Punjab & Sind Bank)
Standbys: Jaswinder Singh (RCF), Ajitesh Roy (Punjab National Bank), Vikas Sharma (Indian Oil) Bikas Toppo (ONGC)
Officials:
Chief coach: Jose Brasa
National coach: Harendra Singh
Assistant coaches: Clarence Lobo, Gundeep Kumar
Doctor: B.K. Nayak
Physiotherapist: Shrikant Iyengar
Trainer: Pradip Dutta
Masseur: R.K. Bansiwal
India's schedule:
May 6: India v China
May 7: India v Pakistan
May 9: India v South Korea
May 10: India v Australia
May 12: India v Malaysia
May 15: India v Egypt
May 16: 5-6 Position Playoff, 3-4 Position Playoff, Final
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