The upcoming Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka will be a perfect platform for the fringe players to showcase their talent and stake a claim in the first team, said Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh. 

The tournament, originally scheduled to be held last year, has been postponed multiple times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and will now be played from December 14 to 22. This will be India’s first outing after the team’s historic Olympics bronze medal-winning campaign earlier this year. The Manpreet Singh-led side will be without eight players from the Tokyo Games squad, including the likes of veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh who has been rested.