Three players from Odisha, Abhishek Lakra, Sunil Jojo and Sudeep Chirmako, have been included in the 18-member Indian U-21 hockey squad announced on Thursday for the upcoming FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup, 2021.
The tournament would be held without spectators at the Kalinga Stadium here from November 24.
Vivek Sagar Prasad on Thursday was named as captain of the 18-member strong Indian team which would defend the title at the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup 2021. The squad was picked following completion of the selection trials on Wednesday.
The 18-member team includes Shardanand Tiwari, Prashant Chauhan, Sudeep Chirmako, Rahul Kumar Rajbhar, Maninder Singh, Pawan, Vishnukant Singh, Ankit Pal, Uttam Singh, Sunil Jojo, Manjeet, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem, Abhishek Lakra, Yashdeep Siwach, Gurmukh Singh, and Araijeet Singh Hundal.
India will begin their campaign on November 24 against France.
They would take on Canada on November 25 in their second match in the round robin league, followed by their match against Poland on November 27.
The top two teams from the preliminary round groups would qualify for the knockout quarterfinals, which will be played on December 1.