Bhubaneswar: Three players from Odisha – Abhishek Lakra, Sunil Jojo, Sudeep Chirmako- have found a place in the 18-member Indian men’s hockey squad for the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup 2021.
Olympic bronze medalist, Vivek Sagar Prasad will lead the defending champion squad.
The quadrennial event is scheduled to kick off in Bhubaneswar on November 24 with 16 top teams – Belgium, The Netherlands, Argentina, Germany, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, Pakistan, Korea, Malaysia, Poland, France, Chile, Spain and USA – from across the globe in the fray.
The other members of India’s squad include Shardanand Tiwari, Prashant Chauhan, Rahul Kumar Rajbhar, Maninder Singh, Pawan, Vishnukant Singh, Ankit Pal, Uttam Singh, Manjeet, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Yashdeep Siwach, Gurmukh Singh and Araijeet Singh Hundal.
Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem and Boby Singh Dhami will replace them in an injury or if someone in the 18-member squad is ruled out of the tournament due to COVID-19.
Notably, India will begin their campaign on November 24 against France. They will take on Canada the following day in the round-robin league, followed by a match against Poland on November 27. The knockout matches will be held between 1 December and 5 December.
According to sources, the USA and Argentina teams will be put up at Hotel Mayfair, the Netherlands team at The Trident, France team at Taj Vivanta, Poland team at Nilay Residency, South Africa team at Hotel Hindustan International (HHI), Chile and Germany teams at Lemon Tree Hotel, Spain, Belgium and India teams at Sandy Towers Hotel and Pakistan, Malaysia and Korea teams at Swosti Premium.
Special security arrangements have been made for the Pakistan team at Swosti Premium. A dedicated restaurant, swimming pool, salon and gym will be provided to the team, the source added.
