Gagan Ajit

Chandigarh: Gagan Ajit Singh made a comeback to the national squad after spending almost a year on the sidelines as the IHF announced an 18-member squad for the eight-nation mini-World Cup from August 14 to 21.

The Dilip Tirkey-led team also included Kanwalpreet Singh and Viren Rasquinha, both of whom were out of reckoning for different reasons.

While Kanwalpreet has been missing from action since last year, Rasquinha came back to the fold after recovering from a finger injury.

Gagan, who fell out of favour following India’s disastrous show in the Athens Olympics, was suspended for three months for unruly conduct during the Men’s Nationals in Hyderabad last March.

Like Gagan, Kanwalpreet was also banned for two years after being found guilty of hitting Deepak Thakur with his stick during a meet in February. But his ban was revoked last month by the IHF.

THE SQUAD

Dilip Tirkey (capt.), Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri, Kanwalpreet Singh, Harpal Singh, Viren Rasquinha, Ignace Tirkey, Arjun Halappa, Bimal Lakra, Jaswinder Singh, Prabhdeep Singh, Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, Rajpal Singh, Ravipal Singh, Didar Singh, Devinderpal Singh. (PTI)