India Announce U-18 Men’s and Women’s Squads for Asia Cup in Japan

Overview

• Hockey India named 18-player rosters for both the men’s and women’s U-18 Asia Cup, with Ketan Kushwaha appointed men’s captain and Sweety Kujur named women’s captain.
• The men’s squad was announced on Thursday after a national coaching camp in Bhopal that included a four-match exposure series versus Australia U-18 that produced one win, one loss and two draws.
• India’s men and women are both drawn into Pool A for the tournament in Kakamigahara, with the men set to face Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei and the women scheduled to play Malaysia, Korea and Singapore in pool play.
• Coaches led by Sardar Singh, Rajnish Mishra and Rani said recent work in Bhopal focused on tactical discipline, penalty-corner routines and match tempo with the explicit goal of topping their pools and reaching the semifinals.
• The U-18 Asia Cup runs from May 29 to June 6 and offers India’s young players direct knockout qualification from pool stages plus international exposure that will shape selection and development for future junior teams.