Hockey India on Sunday announced a 22-member squad for the National Coaching Camp ahead of the FIH Olympic Qualifiers.
India are high on confidence ahead of the qualifiers as they had a very successful tour to Belgium where they won all the games. India registered three wins over the hosts and also secured two victories over Spain.
The camp will begin from October 14 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the players will report to Chief Coach Graham Reid.
Reid said there were a lot of takeaways from the tour of Belgium and expressed his confidence for the challenge against Russia.
"I think the wins in Belgium surely contribute to the team's confidence going into the FIH Olympic Qualifiers. There were a lot of takeaways from the tour and I am confident the team is ready for the challenge against Russia," Reid said in a statement.
Reid further stated: "It was a good tour as the team showed good intensity and were able to score from PCs and field goals which is good. Playing quality teams like Belgium and Spain definitely helps ahead of a crucial tie. The next few weeks at camp will be more about keeping up our momentum and getting used to the playing conditions in Bhubaneswar."
India's 22 player for the camp: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Simranjeet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh.
FIH Olympic Qualifiers will take place on November 1 and 2 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
( With inputs from ANI )