Dipsan Tirkey in Indian team for Hockey Asia Cup

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Dipsan Tirkey of Odisha has found a place in the 18-member Indian squad for the upcoming Hockey Asia Cup in Dhaka. The tournament is scheduled to begin from October 11 and run till 22.

The 18-year-old, the only player selected from the state, will be playing as a defender in the team headed by midfielder Manpreet Singh with SV Sunil as his deputy for the hockey event. The squad was announced on Saturday.

Dipsan was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup.

In this eight-team tournament, India has been placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Japan and Pakistan. They will open their campaign against Japan on October 11. Their second match will be against Bangladesh on October 13 before they face arch-rival Pakistan on October 15.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Suraj Karkera; Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar; Midfielders:SK Uthappa, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Sumit; Forwards:SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Satbir Singh.