Halappa, Gill left out of Asiad hockey team

Barring the omission of Arjun Halappa and S S Gill, all the other members of the 18-member Indian hockey team which took part in the just-concluded Champions Trophy have been retained for the Busan Asian Games, where India will be defending the title it won at the 1998 Games in Bangkok.

The Indian Hockey Federation announced an expected 16-member squad, which will be led by defender Dilip Tirkey.

India begins its campaign in Pool A of the eight-team competition with a match against Hong Kong, in Busan, on September 30.

Japan and hosts South Korea, who were runners-up in Bangkok four years ago, are the other team in the group.

Group B comprises Bangladesh, China, Malaysia and Pakistan.

"We intend to do well at the Asian Games and in the years to come," IHF president K P S Gill said tersely, when asked about the country's chances of retaining the gold medal.

Gill sought to allay apprehensions on disharmony in the team, saying: "The team discipline is excellent."

The team:
Goalkeepers: - Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri.
Defenders: Dilip Tirkey (captain), Jugraj Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh, Dinesh Nayak.
Midfielders: Viren Rasquinha, Vikram Pillay, Ignace Tirkey, Bimal Lakra.
Forwards: Dhanraj Pillay, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Daljit Singh Dhillon, Gagan Ajit Singh, Tejbir Singh.
Coach: Rajinder Singh