Manpreet to lead India in Hockey World League semis

New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Young midfielder Manpreet Singh on Thursday replaced injured P.R. Sreejesh as the captain of the Indian hockey team that will leave for Germanys 3 Nations Invitational Tournament, followed by Englands World League Semi-final.

The announcement was made after regular captain and goalkeeper Sreejesh was ruled out for the series and HWL due to a knee injury.

India is set to play Germany and Belgium in the 3 Nations Invitational tournament and are clubbed with Canada, Netherlands, Pakistan and Scotland for the tournament in London.

Goalkeepers Akash Chikte and Vikas Dahiya will fill in for Sreejesh, who sustained an injury while playing against Australia at the 26th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament. The line-up sees Ramandeep Singh back in the attacking zone.

Coach Roelant Oltmans said, "The idea was to bring in a couple of changes in positions after Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Like I had said before, there are three tours this year including Azlan Shah Cup where we would like to give opportunities to younger players."

"Though we are taking a few players who are not that experienced, we still want to do well and the aim is to finish in Top 2 at the Men's Hockey World League Semi Final and I look forward to see how the boys will perform against big teams."

The squad:

Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Vikas Dahiya;

Defenders: Pardeep Mor, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh;

Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice Captain), S.K. Uthappa, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Harjeet Singh

Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, S.V. Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh.