Sreejesh, Rani to lead teams until end of year

New Delhi, April 27

Hockey India announced PR Sreejesh and Rani as captains of the senior men’s and women’s team, respectively, until the end of 2018. Sreejesh returns to the leadership role after coming back from an injury break while Rani continues in her position for all tournaments in 2018, including the Women’s World Cup, to be held in London in July, and the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta.

Sreejesh was given the captaincy in 2016 for the Champions Trophy where India, under his leadership, won a historic silver medal. 

During the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, the experienced goalkeeper tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. Sreejesh returned to action at the four-nation invitational hockey tournament in New Zealand in January this year, putting up a strong performance as India finished second. Rani guided India to the Asia Cup win last year. 

Junior Indian teams on a  winning spree

The Indian junior men’s team thrashed Hong Kong 21-0 and South Korea 12-5 to finish on top of Pool A at the Youth Olympic Games qualifiers in Bangkok. The Indian women’s hockey team also continued its unbeaten run, defeating Thailand 9-0 to finish on top of Pool B and qualify for the semifinal.The junior men’s team will take on either Pakistan or Bangladesh in the first semifinal, while the junior women’s team will face Malaysia in their semifinal tomorrow. The five-day tournament is a qualifying event for Youth Olympic Games at Buenos Aires. — PTI

https://ift.tt/2r3mwfR