National hockey camp to begin from Tuesday

New Delhi: After a three-week break, a 33-member Indian men's hockey core probable group, including skipper Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh, will return to the national camp scheduled to begin in Bengaluru from Tuesday.

The camp will take place at the Sports Authority of India campus and the core group will undergo a mandatory quarantine period before re-starting training as per SAI and Hockey India SOPs.

"I expect the players to return feeling fresh both mentally and physically after this three-week break," chief coach Graham Reid was quoted as saying in a Hockey India (HI) release.

"In our previous National Camp, we hit desirable numbers in various parameters including the Yo-Yo Test. Our aim will be to up the ante in the current camp and be prepared for forthcoming competition."

The Indian men's hockey team had been training from August to December 12 last year.

While the Indian women's team will head to Argentina to play an eight-match series against the hosts this month, HI has been in talks with different nations to organise a tour for the men's side as well.

The Indian men's team played its last international match against Australia on February 22 last year at the FIH Hockey Pro League.

Core Probables' List: Goalkeepers: P R Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak,Suraj Karkera.

Defenders: Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey, Nilam Sanjeep Xess.

Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Jaskaran Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad.

Forwards: S V Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Gurjant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra.