Harmanpreet to lead India in Asian CT

Chennai: Experienced defender Harmanpreet Singh will continue to lead India in the Asian Champions Trophy. On Tuesday Hockey India announced the 18-member squad for the event, scheduled to be held at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai from August 3-12. India is hosting the prestigious event for the first time.Prolific midfielder Hardik Singh will be Harmanpreet’s deputy. The Asian Champions Trophy will also serve as a preparation event for the Asian Games, to be held in Hangzhou, China.Senior forward Lalit Kumar Upadhyay has not been included in the squad. Apart from Lalit, Dilpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh, who are all currently with the Indian squad in Spain gearing up for the the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation-International Tournament, have also been left out.Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak have been named as the goalkeepers, while Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas will man the defence. Hardik, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, and Nilakanta Sharma and Manpreet Singh will be in the midfield while Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, and S Karthi form the forward line. Karthi only TN player: Young forward Selvam Karthi is the only player from Tamil Nadu who has found a place in the final squad. But Mareeswaran Sakthivel, who played in the Asia Cup in Indonesia last year, couldn’t make it to the squad.THE SQUAD: Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak; Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas; Midfielders: Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh; Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, S Karthi.