New Delhi: A 21-member Indian men’s hockey team will embark on a 15-day tour of Europe starting July 31 under the watchful guidance of High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans, who will also take over as the chief coach after the unceremonious sacking of Paul van Ass.
India will play five matches during the tour of France and Spain, which will culminate on August 14.
During the tour, seen as preparation for the FIH Hockey World League Final to be held on home soillater this year, India will play twice against France and three times against Spain.
The squad was selected following a preparatory camp held in Shilaroo near Shimla from July 19.
Star midfielder Sardar Singh will continue to lead, while goalkeeper PR Sreejesh will be his deputy.
Ace dragflicker VR Raghunath, defenders Kothajit Singh and Gurjinder Singh, midfielders SK Uthappa and Danish Mujtaba and strikers SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh and Talwinder Singh, who were not part of the 18-member squad that finished fourth in the World League Semi-Finals in Antwerp, have all made comebacks to the side.
Forward Mohammad Amir Khan is the lone new face in the team.
Manpreet Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Satbir Singh, Gurmail Singh and Yuvraj Walmiki have been omitted from the Europe tour squad.
Also missing out was senior midfielder Gurbaj Singh, against whom Hockey India’s Special Committee has recommended disciplinary action for alleged misbehaviour with the coaching staff and creating disharmony in the side.
India will open their tour with a match against hosts France at Le Touquet.
Speaking on the significance of the tour, High Performance Director and India’s new chief coach Oltmans said: “It’s a very important series for us as this will be a base for us to understand how we will perform and deliver as a unit and the grey areas to be improved upon before the World League Finals.
“After the World League Finals, our next step is the Rio Olympics. So from here on all tournaments are very important for us. We have to keep working and growing as a team.
“We are not taking the upcoming series lightly as both teams [France and Spain] are very competitive and playing against them will help us tackle the European style of hockey better.”
