Diwakar to lead India Colts in Genting tourney

Drag-flicker Diwakar Ram will lead an 18-member India junior men’s squad in the Genting four-nation hockey tournament at Johor Bahru, Malaysia, from March 11-15. Other three countries involved in the tournament include Pakistan, Singapore and Malaysia. The Indian squad will be accompanied by five officials, including chief coach AK Bansal and coach Clarence Lobo. The five-day tournament is being seen as a trial event for the Junior World Cup to be co-hosted by Singapore and Malaysia in June this year. India will open their campaign against Malaysia on March 11 followed by a match against Singapore the next day. They will round off their league encounter with the match against arch-rivals Pakistan on March 13. The final will be played between the top two teams of the league stage on March 15. The Indian Colts had been pretty impressive in the run up to the Junior World Cup. They won the Asia Cup at Hyderabad in July last year and followed it up with away series victories over reigning world champions Argentina and European powerhouse Holland in December. The junior team also won silver in the four-nation Australian Youth Olympics at Sydney in January this year. INDIA SQUAD: Goalkeepers: Mrinal Chaubey, C Santosh Kumar. Defenders: Innocent Kullu, Sunil Yadav, Diwakar Ram (capt) Midfielders: Birender Lakra, Vikas Sharma, Belsajar Horo, Amardeep Ekka, Manjeet Kullu. Forwards: Mandip Antil, Jay Karan, Danish Mujtaba, Victo Singh, Mohd Amir Khan, Pramod Kumar, Mohd Asif Khan, Lalit Upadhyay. Chief coach: AK Bansal