Hockey: Sultan of Johor Cup ⁠— All you need to know, team, format, fixture

The Indian junior men's hockey team, led by captain Mandeep Mor, is geared up for the ninth edition of the Sultan of Johor Cup to be held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia from 12 to 19 October. The Sultan of Johor Cup is an International men’s U21 field hockey tournament, which began in 2011. This tournament is held annually in Malaysia and comprises of six participants including the host nation. This year the participants are: Australia, India, Great Britain, Malaysia, Japan, and New Zealand. India has participated in seven out of the eight editions till now and have won the tournament twice in 2013 and 2014. India was the runner-up in the last edition i.e. 2018 when it lost to Great Britain.

Format

A total of fifteen matches would be played between the countries in preliminary round from 12th to 18th October. The classification round for the first to sixth position would be held on 19th October. The matches would be held in Taman Daya Hockey Stadium in the city, Johor Bahru.

Schedule

The matches would be broadcasted on YouTube. The match schedule for India is as under -- (Timings are in IST) Sat, 12 Oct - 18:05 India v Malaysia Sun, 13 Oct - 15:35 India v New Zealand Tue, 15 Oct - 15:35 Japan v India Wed, 16 Oct - 13:35 India v Australia Fri, 18 Oct - 13:35 Great Britain v India Sat, 19 Oct - Classification Matches

Squad

The Indian Contingent squad selected by the Hockey India’s selection committee would include: Goalkeepers: Pawan,Prashant Kumar Jadhav Defenders: Mandeep Mor(C), Dinachandra Singh Moirangthem, Pratap Lakra, Sanjay(VC), Sharda Nand Tiwari, Suman Beck, Yashdeep Siwach Midfielders: Maninder Singh,Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem and Vishnu Kant Singh Forwards: Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Rahul Kumar Rajbhar, Shilanand Lakra, Sudeep Chirmako, Uttam Singh. The squad would be accompanied by their coaches, Kariappa B J and Udaya Kumar, physiotherapist, Sanjeet Kumar and video analyst, Ashok Kumar C. India has been consistent in their performance throughout these years in this tournament. The Coach Kariappa is confident about the team’s performance and said,” The ninth Sultan of Johor Cup will be a fantastic experience for the Indian junior men's hockey team since top sides such as Australia and Great Britain will be taking part in the competition.” He also added that, “The players have been put through strenuous training and have improved their skills tremendously. However, they will have to find a way to apply their learning on the field and execute their plans.” With such a strong team we hope that the Indian team would get the country its third title in this tournament.