Former captain Rajpal Singh and veteran midfielder Ignace Tirkey were the notable omissions from an 18-member Indian hockey team announced for the FIH Men's Champions Challenge I from November 26 to December 4 in Johannesburg.
Defending champions Haryana trounced Bengal 8-0 to register their second consecutive victory in the 2nd Hockey India Senior Men's National Championship in Bangalore on Monday.
Forward Rajpal Singh will lead a young 18-member India squad in the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy hockey tournament in Ordos, China, from September 3 to 11.
At least six senior players, including former captain Rajpal Singh, are not in the team for the tournament, starting May 5, in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Starting their campaign in style, Maratha Warriors thrashed Chennai Veerans 4-1 in a one-sided match of the Premier Hockey League in Chandigarh on Friday.
The Indian hockey team succumbed to its second straight defeat, going down 2-4 in the final match to allow Argentina level the four-match Test series in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, on Friday. A shaky defence and a profligate forward line let down India as Sandeep Singh and his men squandered a 2-1 lead and conceded three second half goals to share honours in the four-match series, which they led 2-0 at the midway stage.
Saddened by the financial hardship being faced by the hockey community amid the COVID-19 pandemic, former India captain Viren Rasquinha has raised Rs 22 lakh to be distributed as one-time benefit among players, coaches and groundsmen working at the grassroots level. The fund has been raised in just one week through a joint initiative of non-profit organisations Olympic Gold Quest, of which Rasquinha is a Director and CEO, and Go Sports Foundation. They named the initiative #LetsStickTogether.
India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Ranchi Rhinos' have retained most of the players.
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