A two-week National Coaching Camp  for a 33-member core  group as part of the Indian team's  final preparations for the  Hockey World Cup  has  begun  at  Sports Authority of India, Bengaluru 

The special drag flick and goalkeeping camp will begin on 14th December and conclude on 20th December. The Indian team will leave on 27th December for Rourkela, where they begin their campaign on 13th January against England. 

Hockey India has called-up Double Olympic Champion from Netherlands Bram Lomans to work with the Indian drag flickers. Dennis Van De Pol, who was here in Bengaluru in 2019, has been invited to share his expertise in goalkeeping.    

The  Hockey World Cup is scheduled to be held at Bhubaneswar - Rourkela from 13th to 29th January 2023. 

"We are grateful to Hockey India and SAI for organizing this special drag flick and goalkeeping camp ahead of the World Cup. This is a great opportunity to get world-class specialized coaching and it will certainly help provide the right tools and strategies for our drag flickers and goalies ahead of the big event in January,"  said  Team Chief Coach Graham Reid.  

Players called up for the National Camp include Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Sanjay, Yashdeep Siwach, Dipsan Tirkey, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohd Raheel, Maninder Singh, S Karthi, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpeet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh. 

Additionally, Shilanand Lakra, Manjeet and Pawan Rajbhar who are nursing an injury will also remain in the national camp for their rehab. 

"This is going to be an important camp for us. There are a few critical aspects of our game that needs some improvement basis our assessment of the Australia Tour. The players were given one week's break after returning from Adelaide and I believe they will be physically and mentally fresh when they report on Monday," added Reid. 

The hosts who will be vying to end the wait of over four decades to stand on the podium in the World Cup are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the marquee event at home. In their quest to excel,