An 18-member Indian team led by mid-fielder Manpreet Singh left Bhubaneswar today for the 5th Men’s Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Tournament, scheduled to be held at Muscat in Oman from October 18 to 28, 2018. But it is unusual that no player from Odisha, the state which would be the host for the Hockey Men’s World Cup at Bhubaneswar next month, could get a berth in the Indian team.

World No 5 India will begin their campaign on October 18 as they face hosts Oman in their opening match. With World No 12 Malaysia, arch-rivals Pakistan, World No 14 South Korea, Asian Games 2018 gold medallists Japan, and hosts Oman in contention, the tournament will give the Indian team the opportunity to avoid committing the mistakes which cost them the semi-final loss to Malaysia in the Asian Games 2018.

The Indian team will go into the 5th Men’s Asian Champions Trophy as the defending champions, after having won the title in 2016 when they beat Pakistan 3-2 in the Final match held in Kuantan, Malaysia. India have won the tournament twice, the first time in 2011.

The six teams in the 5th Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will play each other in a round-robin format, and the top four ranked teams will progress to the semifinals. The bronze medal and final match will take place on October28.

TEAM INDIA:
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh
Mid-fielders: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice-captain)
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh
Head coach: Harendra Singh