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29 players assembled for India Under-23’s Asian Games 2014 preparatory camp in Bangalore on Tuesday with goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu being the only name missing as he is currently on trials with Norway top tier club Stabaek.
The summer transfer window in Norway opens on July 15 and Gurpreet is hopeful of earning a contract, which would make him the youngest Indian footballer to ply his trade in Europe.
The 22-year-old custodian has been on trials with Stabaek since May 20 and featured in a friendly last month, keeping a clean sheet. Gurpreet represented India U-23 in the 2010 Asian Games as a teenager.
The list of 29 comprises 26 U-23 players and three seniors – Sunil Chhetri, Francis Fernandes and Robin Singh – and the training under senior coach Wim Koevermans will start from Wednesday.
Tour to Czech Republic?
The two-and-a-half month preparations will include exposure tours and friendly matches in Europe and the Far East besides two friendlies against Pakistan U-23 in Bangalore on August 17 and 20. Sportskeeda learnt that the tour to Europe could comprise a trip to Czech Republic instead of Spain, which was originally planned.
As many as eleven players of the 30-man squad including five Dempo youngsters are also expected to play in the Indian Super League.
Squad
GOALKEEPERS: Amrinder Singh (Pune FC), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu* (Unattached), Ravi Kumar (Sporting Clube), Kamaljit Singh (India U-19)
DEFENDERS: Pritam Kotal, Shouvik Ghosh (both Mohun Bagan), Keenan Almeida , Deepak Devrani, Joyner Lourenco (all Sporting Clube), Shankar Sampingiraj (Bengaluru FC), Sandesh Jhingan (IMG-Reliance), Sanjay Balmuchu (Churchill Brothers), Salam Singh (Pune FC), Narayan Das (Dempo)
MIDFIELDERS: Pronoy Halder, Alwyn George (both Dempo) Rowlin Borges (Sporting Clube), Clifton Dias (Salgaocar), Siam Hangal (Bengaluru FC), Lalrindika Ralte (East Bengal), Dhanpal Ganesh (Pune FC), Milan Singh (Shillong Lajong)
FORWARDS: Francis Fernandes (Senior Player, Salgaocar), Romeo Fernandez, Mandar Rao Desai (both Dempo) Seiminlen Doungel (Shillong Lajong), Sunil Chhetri, Robin Singh (Senior Players, Bengaluru FC), Thongkhosiem Haokip (Pune FC, Alesh Sawant (Churchill Brothers)
*to join later
