Rajpal to lead hockey team in CWG

Rajpal Singh was on Monday named captain of the 16-member hockey squad, announced by Hockey India, for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

The side has only one goalkeeper in Bharat Chetri and five defenders including Arjuna Award winner Sandeep Singh.

There are six midfielders and Rajpal is leading the forwards line-up along with Shivendra Singh, Tushar Khandekar and Dharamvir Singh.

"The team was selected after the trials conducted at Balewadi, Pune in the presence of Hockey India Selectors Col. Balbir Singh and BP Govinda, Government Nominees Ajitpal Singh and Zafar Iqbal besides the Foreign Coach and National Coach," Hockey India said in a statement.

The squad is the same which was leaked to media through an anonymous mail on Saturday.

Squad:

Goalkeeper: Bharat Chetri (Canara Bank).

Defenders: Sardar Singh (Haryana), Sandeep Singh (Haryana), Dhananjay Mahadik (Services), Gurbaj Singh (Air India) and Prabodh Tirkey (Air India).

Midfielders: Arjun Halappa (Air India), Vikram Pillay (Air India), Ravi Pal (BPCL), Bharat Chikara (Indian Oil), Danish Mujtaba (UP) and Sarvanjit Singh (PSB)

Forwards: Rajpal Singh (Indian Oil), Tushar Khandekar (BPCL), Shivendra Singh (Air India), Dharamvir Singh (Indian Oil).