Will go all out in my first senior nationals: Tushar

Indeed despite being a regular member of the national team,Khandker says that the trials for the state squad were equally important. “The trials for the senior nationals have been a great experience for me. I was given a lot of respect from the other participants. The youngsters watched me give the trials with great keenness.” he says.

Hockey India selector Syed Ali,who is also the selector for the UP team,says that there are plenty of expectations from Khandker. “Tushar has been representing India for quite some time,in all the important tournaments. He has also played at the Olympics so I am sure that with his experience,he will be able to lead the team well. As compared to last year when the team could not reach the quarter-finals,a better result is expected this time around,as there are more youngsters in the squad. I am sure that seniors like Vikas Sharma,Amir and Lalit Upadhyay will also be sharing their experience with the other players. The drawback however remains that the selected boys could not practice as a unit as the trials have ended just today and the team will be leaving for Bangalore tomorrow. If UP is able to defeat Railways in its pool,then it stands good chances of winning a medal,” he says.

The championship commences from September 23. UP,which has been clubbed with teams like Assam,Tripura and Indian Railways in pool F,will begin their campaign against Assam on September 26.

The UP Team:- Goalkeepers: Abhinav Kumar Pandey (Sports Hostel,Lucknow),Veer Bahadur Gupta (Lucknow); Full-backs: Abhishek Kumar Singh (SAI,Lucknow),Sunil Yadav (SAI,Lucknow),Chandan Singh (Sports Hostel,Lucknow); Midfielders: Vikas Sharma (Meerut),Deepak Singh (Lucknow),Imran (Allahabad),Gaurav Bhardwaj (Northern Railway),Mahendra Sharma (UP Police); Forwards: Tushar Khandker (Jhansi; captain),Lalit Upadhyay (Varanasi),Amir (Allahabad),Imran (Sports Hostel,Lucknow),Jai Karan (Jhansi),Shri Bishen (Northern Railway),Dilshad (Varanasi) and Imran (Jhansi).