Ajmer, Sinclair in hockey team for Asiad

New Delhi:

Young midfielder Ajmer Singh and striker Adam Sinclair have made a comeback to the 16-member Indian hockey team for the Doha Asian Games scheduled to start next month. After the exclusion of experienced striker Gagan Ajit Singh and linkman Vikram Pillay from the probables' list, it was imminent that some youngsters would be brought in for the team's campaign in Qatar. Although the Indian Hockey Federation has not yet announced the team, the list of players has been put up on the official website of the Doha Asian Games. As per the list, three major changes have been effected to the Qatar-bound Indian team. Defender Harpal Singh's inclusion in place of Kanwalpreet Singh is the third change in the squad, which had a lacklustre showing at the World Cup in Germany in September. India had a poor 11th place finish in the 12-team event and players like Gagan Ajit, Pillay and Kanwalpreet had to pay the price for the debacle. Veteran full-back Dilip Tirkey would lead the deep defence while Bangalore-based Arjun Halappa will be in charge of the flock of young strikers. Experienced duo of Viren Rasquinha and Ignace Tirkey will hold key to the Indian midfield while consistent performers Adrian D'Souza and Bharat Chetri will remain as goal-keepers. On the front of penalty corner conversion, India will stick to young drag-flicker V Raghunath. India, placed in Pool B, will meet Bangladesh in their opening match on December 4. They will take on China (December 5), Oman (December 8) and Korea (December 10) in subsequent league matches. Team: Goal-keepers: Bharat Kumar Chetri, Adrian D'Souza Defenders: Dilip Tirkey, Harpal Singh, V Raghunath Mid-fielders: Viren Rasquinha, Ajmer Singh, Ignace Tirkey, V S Vinay Forwards: Arjun Halappa, Tushar Khandekar, Hari Prasad, Adam Sinclair, Rajpal Singh, Shivendra Singh, Tejbir Singh. (PTI)