New Delhi, May 25: Ahead of FIH Men's Champions Trophy, 48 players have been shortlisted for a 21-day national camp commencing May 28 at the Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru, Hockey India (HI) announced on Friday.

The players have been selected from a larger pool of 55 from the previous camp and will work under coach Harendra Singh ahead of the FIH Men's Champions Trophy in Breda, the Netherlands. 

"I believe we have a very strong pool of players to choose from for the Champions Trophy to be held in Breda. Since this is the last edition of the prestigious event, there is no doubt we want to be part of history by standing on the podium," Harendra Singh said.

"That is what our focus will be on as we begin the National Camp," he added. 

The present national campers list includes six goalkeepers in PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Vikas Dahiya, Jagdeep Dayal and Prashant Kumar Chauhan.

HI has named 14 defenders in the group of 48 which includes dragflickers Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Gurjinder Singh apart from Gurinder Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Gowda and Anand Lakra.

Midfielders Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Sumit, Simranjit Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sardar Singh, Hardik Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Raj Kumar Pal, Amon Mirash Tirkey, Dharminder Singh, Manpreet Jr and Vivek Sagar Prasad have been called up for the camp.

Forwards S V Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Sumit Kumar, Mohd. Umar, Abharan Sudev Belimagga, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Armaan Qureshi, Sukhjeet Singh, Gagandeep Singh Sr, Pardeep Singh and Maninderjit Singh have been included in the National Camp. 

National Campers List: 

Goalkeepers- P R Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Vikas Dahiya, Jagdeep Dayal, Prashant Kumar Chauhan

Defenders- Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Birendra Lakra, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Dipsan Tirkey, Gurjinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Gowda, Anand Lakra

Midfielders- Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Sumit, Simranjit Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sardar Singh, Hardik Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Raj Kumar Pal, Amon Mirash Tirkey, Dharminder Singh, Manpreet, Vivek Sagar Prasad

Forwards- S V Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Sumit Kumar, Mohd. Umar, Abharan Sudev Belimagga, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Armaan Qureshi, Sukhjeet Singh, Gagandeep Singh Sr., Pardeep Singh, Maninderjit Singh.

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Masyaf (Syria), Sep 9: The number of people killed in overnight Israeli strikes in Syria has risen to 18 with dozens more wounded, Syria's health minister said on Monday — the largest death toll in such an attack since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

One of the sites targeted was a research centre used in the development of weapons, a war monitor said. Syrian officials said civilian sites were targeted.

Israel regularly targets military sites in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Those strikes have become more frequent as Hezbollah has exchanged fire with Israeli forces for the past 11 months against the backdrop of Israel's war against Hamas — a Hezbollah ally — in Gaza.

However, the intensity and death toll of Sunday night's strikes were unusual.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military. Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of war-torn Syria in recent years, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. The strikes often target Syrian forces or Iranian-backed groups.

Israel has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria, particularly since Syria is a key route for Iran to send weapons to Hezbollah.

Israeli strikes hit several areas in central Syria, damaging a highway in Hama province and sparking fires, Syrian state news agency SANA said.

Speaking to reporters, Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabbash described the strikes as a “brutal and barbaric aggression”. He said the death toll had risen to 18 with nearly 40 wounded.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 25 were killed, including at least five civilians, while the others included Syrian army soldiers and members of Hezbollah and other Iran-linked armed groups.

One strike targeted a scientific research centre in Masyaf, and others struck sites where “Iranian militias and experts are stationed to develop weapons in Syria”, the observatory said. It said the research centre was reportedly used for developing weapons, including short- and medium-range precision missiles and drones.

Minister of Electricity Mohammad al-Zamel said the strikes had caused “truly significant” damage to water and electricity infrastructure.

“This brutal attack targeted civilian targets, and the martyrs were mostly civilians, as were the wounded,” he said.

Local media also reported strikes around the coastal city of Tartous, which the observatory said were the result of air defense missiles falling.

On Monday afternoon, a charred car remained at the scene of one strike and smoke was still rising from some spots where fires had been put out.