Soccer: Under-23 probables camp on

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Members of the victorious SAFF Cup team in Dhaka, Bangladesh recently, are amongst the 29 players invited for selection of the Indian Under-23 team camp for the AFC Challenge Cup to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from February 16 to 27.

The Bharati Vidyapeeth Education Complex's lush green football ground, will play host to the camp, being staged for the first time in Pune, from February 5 to 14, Mr. Vishwajeet Kadam, President of the Poona District Football Association, said here on Sunday.

The chief coach Sukhvinder Singh selected the site after having a look at the playing facilities available at the Shiv Chatrapati Sports complex in Mhalunge-Balewadi and the Pune FC's practice ground in distant Mamurdi.

In the AFC Challenge Cup India has been placed in the strong Group B. India would clash with Turkmenistan in their opening match. Two teams from each group qualify for the knockout semifinals.

Group A consists of Tajikistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka, while Group B comprises of Turkmenistan, Kyrgystan, North Korea and India.

The PDFA president Mr. Kadam said that Sukhvinder Singh, ex-coach of JCT, who was also the chief coach of the under-23 team in the SAFF Cup, has been appointed as chief coach for the Under-23 camp. Sukhvinder will be assisted by Syed Shabir Pasha, former Indian Bank coach.

"We are leaving no stones unturned to see that ideal atmosphere is provided to the players attending the 10 day camp at the huge Bharati Vidyapeeth Education complex," Mr. Kadam stated.

INDIA Under-23

Goalkeepers
Arindam Bhattacharya (Churchill Brothers SC), Karanjit Singh (JCT), Laxmikant Kattimani (Dempo), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (East Bengal Club)

Defenders
Nirmal Chetri (East Bengal Club), Ravinder Singh (Air India), Dharmaraj Ravanan (Mahindra United), Denzil Franco (Mahindra United), Debabrata Roy (Mahindra United), Rowilson Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC), Thokchom Naoba Singh (Churchill Brothers SC), Robert Lalthalma (Churchill Brothers SC), Nallappan Mohanraj (Mohun Bagan AC), Raju Eknath Gaikwad (Tata Football Academy)

Midfielders
Baldip Singh Jr (JCT), Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Khangebam Jeevan Singh (East Bengal Club), Gurwinder Singh (JCT), Lalrindika Ralte (Churchill Brothers SC), Subodh Kumar (Tata Football Academy), Sheikh Jewel Raja (Dempo SC), Manish Maithani (Mohun Bagan AC), Baljit Singh Sahni (JCT)

Forwards
Sushil Kumar Singh (Mahindra United), Subhash Singh (East Bengal Club), Balwant Singh (JCT), Jagtar Singh (Tata Football Academy), Jeje Lalpeklua (Pune FC), Saikhohao Tuboi (Shillong Lajong FC)

Officials
Sukhvinder Singh (Coach), Syed Shabir Pasha (Assistant Coach), Chandru Jayaraman (Physiotherapist), Dr. Kiran Kulkarni (Team Doctor), Hardev Jadeja (Head of Delegation)