New Delhi, May 24 (UNI) Hockey India (HI) today shortlisted 53 Junior Men and 37 Junior Women probables for the National Camp which kicked-off today. The camp which has been organised at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center in Bengaluru, will run till June 30 and July 3 for the men and women players respectively. The five-week long camp has been organised with HI's vision on the 2020 Junior World Cup (Men and Women) and to create a strong pool of players for the prestigious event where the Junior men's team will defend the coveted title. The Junior men’s probables includes players from this year’s national champions Hockey Odisha, runners-up Steel Plant Sports Board, Hockey Punjab, Hockey Haryana, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Delhi, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Bhopal, Hockey Rajasthan, Assam Hockey, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha, Sports Authority of India, Hockey Maharashtra, Punjab & Sind Bank, Manipur Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy, Services Sports Control Board, Hockey Bihar, Hockey Patiala, Hockey Jammu & Kashmir and Telangana Hockey.
On the other hand, the Junior women’s probables features players from Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy who won the Hockey India 7th Junior National Hockey Championship 2017 Women, runners-up Hockey Haryana, Hockey Bhopal, Hockey Him, Hockey Chandigarh, Hockey Odisha, Hockey Uttarakhand, Hockey Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh Hockey, Hockey Karnataka, Association of Indian Universities, Sports Authority of India, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha and Hockey Mizoram. HI Secretary General Mushtaque Ahmad said,"After overwhelming performances by players from across various states in the country, Hockey India’s selection committee has named the probables who would be further pruned down to form a Core Group of 33 Junior men and women players respectively on June 4, with an intention to develop a strong pool of players who can go on to represent the country in major tournaments." "Under the purview of Hockey India’s High Performance Director David John, the young players will be put through a five-week camp which will focus on basics, strength and conditioning and team building activities before we prune down the group and prepare the teams for upcoming international tournaments," concluded he. UNI KU SNU 1558