24 young players to join national hockey camp ahead of Sultan of Johor Cup
Junior’s national team coach Jude Felix has chosen 24 probable young players for a camp ahead of the Sultan of Johor Cup in Bengaluru starting from September 17. Apart from the many new faces, the squad also has eight players who won the bronze medal in the last edition of the tournament.
After finishing in third place in the last edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup, coach Felix would be optimistic about going the full distance this time and has already started preparations for it. Hockey India announced a 24-member list of core probable players who would take part in a camp under the coach ahead of the tournament.
The 19-day camp would end on October 4, two days before the tournament has been scheduled to start in Bahru, Malaysia. And Felix, who has been closely monitoring the players for quite some time now, sounded like a man with the plan.
“Our focus will be on setting up a strong structured team, and understanding the right mix of 18 players who can help our team in producing our best performance at the 8th Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia,” he said, reported PTI.
Among the players included in the 24-man squad are eight Indian junior men’s team that had won the bronze medal last year, which includes the likes of Pankaj Rajak, Suman Beck, Harmanjit Singh, Mandeep Mor, among others.
Felix also stressed on giving proper emphasis to improving skills, fitness, and speed apart from the mental conditioning, thereby making the players ready for the senior team as well.
“We have selected these campers focusing on creating a team which can represent the senior team in the coming years. It is important for us to condition these players in a way that they help the country in becoming one of the best teams in the world,” he added.