Dilip, Prabodh picked for Asia Cup: Ignace ignored

Orissa’s Air India stars Dilip Tirkey and Prabodh Tirkey were today included in the Indian team for Asia Cup Hockey Tournament to be held at Kuantan, Malaysia from May 9. But Prabodh’s elder brother Ignace Tirkey has been dropped from the 18-man squad, which will be led by Sandeep Singh. India will start the tournament as defending champions. Four changes made in the side that won the Azlan Shah Cup earlier this month. Ignace Tirkey, Sarwanjit Singh, Bharat Chhikara and Shivendra Singh were replaced by V.Raghunath, Vikram Pillay, Rajpal Singh and Hari Prasad. Shivendra, who has been recovering from a shoulder injury, was been put on the stand-by list. India will attempt to lift the Asia Cup title for the third time after having won it in 2003 (Kuala Lumpur) and 2007 (Chennai). The winner of the Asia Cup will get an automatic entry to the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi. Squad: Goalkeepers: Baljit Singh, Adrian D’Souza Full Backs: Sandeep Singh (captain), Dilip Tirkey, V.Raghunath Midfielders: Gurbaj Singh, Sardar Singh, Ajitesh Roy, Vikram Pillay, Prabodh Tirkey, V.S.Vinaya Forwards: Tushar Khandker, Rajpal Singh, Prabhjot Singh, S.V.Sunil, Arjun Halappa, Hari Prasad, Gurvinder Singh Chandi Standbyes: P.R.Sreejesh, Sarwanjit Singh, Bharat Chhikara, Shivendra Singh POOL A: South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Sri Lanka POOL B: India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh Fixture (India’s matches): May 9: India vs. Bangladesh May 10: India vs. Pakistan May 12: India vs. China May 14: Semi-finals May 16: Final