Three players from Odisha were today selected in the 20-member Indian Junior (U-21) Mens Hockey Team that will tour Europe from 20 and 29 May 2024 to play five matches across three nations against Belgium, Germany and a Netherlands Club team called Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push.

The three Odisha players are: defender Anmol Ekka, mid-fielders Rosan Kujur and Mukesh Toppo. All three would be making their international debuts. Both Ekka and Kujur are cadets of Bhubaneswar-based Odisha Naval Tata Hockey High Performance Centre. Toppo is an inmate of Government-run Sports Hostel, Panposh, Rourkela.

The Indian team will be led by defender Rohit with Shardanand Tiwari as his deputy. Indian Juniors will be playing matches in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands as part of the Hockey India initiative to help the team gain exposure and build on experience. They will play their first match on May 20 against Belgium in Antwerp, Belgium before playing the same opponents in Breda, Netherlands on May 22.

The Indian Juniors will then play the Netherlands club team, Bredase Hockey Vereniging Push in Breda on May 23, followed by a game against Germany on May 28 in Germany. They will then return to Breda to play Germany once again on May 29 in their final match of the tour.

INDIAN JUNIOR MENS HOCKEY TEAM: Goalkeepers: Prince Deep Singh, Bikramjit Singh. Defenders: Shardanand Tiwari, Yogember Rawat, Anmol Ekka, Rohit, Manoj Yadav, Talem Priyo Barta. Midfielders: Ankit Pal, Roshan Kujur, Bipin Billavara Ravi, Mukesh Toppo, Manmeet Singh, Vachan H A. Forwards: Sourabh Anand Kushwaha, Arshdeep Singh, Gurjot Singh, Mohd Konain Dad, Dilraj Singh, Gursewak Singh.
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PHOTO: Odisha players (L-R) Rosan Kujur, Anmol Ekka and Mukesh Toppo pose in Bangalore on 4 May 2024 after being selected in the Indian Junior Mens Hockey Team for the upcoming Europe tour.