New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) India striker Rajpal Singh was named in the Delhi Wizards squad for the inaugural season of the World Series Hockey (WSH) that starts Dec 17.
Pakistan’s Shakeel Abbasi, Dutchman Martijn de Jager and New Zealand’s Matias Minz and Patrick Harris have also been named in the 21-member squad that would be led by Argentine Lucas Villa.
The squad will be coached by Dutch legend Roelant Oltmans. The 57-year-old had coached the 1990 World Cup-winning Dutch women’s team and he also guided the Dutch men’s team to win the 1996 Olympic Gold in Atlanta and the 1998 World Cup at Utrecht.
‘It is always a great pleasure to be associated with Indian hockey. I am glad that Wizcraft has chosen me to coach and mentor the Delhi Wizards team. At Delhi Wizards, we have a good mix of youth and experience, including some of the best-known internationals. I am confident that this squad has what it takes to form a winning team and I am looking forward to working closely with the boys. We are confident that we can aim for a title win in the inaugural season of the World Series Hockey,’ said Oltmans.
The squad:
Goalkeepers: Mrinal Choubey, Kamaldeep Singh
Defenders: C.S. Khalko, Jaswinder Singh, Keisham Roshan, Lovedeep Singh, Manjeet Kullu, Rupinder Pal Singh
Midfielders: Anand Tirkey, Gurbaj Singh, Martijn de Jager (the Netherlands), Matias Minz, Patrick Harris (New Zealand), Vickram Kanth, Vivek Gupta
Forwards: Bruno Lugun, K. Victo Singh, Manoj Antil, Rajpal Singh, Shakeel Abbasi (Pakistan), Lucas Vila (captain, Argentina)
Coach: Roelant Oltmans (the Netherlands)
Assistant Coach: Darryl D’Souza (India)
