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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Sakti (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): The death toll in a blast at the Vedanta power plant in Chhattisgarh's Sakti district has mounted to 20 with seven more workers succumbing to injuries, while 16 others are undergoing treatment at different hospitals, officials said on Wednesday.

The deceased include six labourers from West Bengal, five from Chhattisgarh, three each from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, two from Bihar, and one from Madhya Pradesh.

The opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.

The explosion occurred on Tuesday afternoon in a steel tube carrying high-pressure steam from the boiler to the turbine at the Vedanta Ltd power plant located in Singhitarai village, leaving several workers with severe burn injuries.

According to officials, four workers died on the spot, while nine others succumbed to injuries soon after the incident.

Seven more workers have died in hospitals, raising the toll to 20, Sakti Collector Amrit Vikas Topno told PTI on Wednesday.

He said that a total of 36 workers were affected in the blast, and 20 of them died.

"Of the 16 injured workers, five are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Raipur, while 11 others are in hospitals of Raigarh, the neighbouring district of Sakti," he added.

Topno added that every possible effort was being made to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.

The deceased were identified, and their family members are being contacted. Arrangements have been made to transport the mortal remains to their native villages via ambulance following the postmortem examination and to provide immediate financial assistance, he said.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

Vedanta Power has also announced a Rs 35 lakh compensation for the family of each deceased worker, along with employment support.

The company will also provide Rs 15 lakh to each injured person, ensure salary continuation until recovery, and offer counselling support, a statement from the plant management said.

The chief minister has ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of the Bilaspur division, assuring strict action against the guilty.

He directed officials to ensure free and proper medical treatment for all injured and emphasised that no negligence in their care would be tolerated.

The district administration has also ordered a separate magisterial probe, while the company has initiated its own internal investigation.

Collector Topno has appointed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Dabhra to conduct the magisterial inquiry.

The SDM has been asked to submit a report within 30 days covering key aspects, including the cause of the accident, whether it was due to technical or human error, and details of safety inspections carried out at the plant.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress has demanded registration of an FIR against the plant management and a judicial inquiry into the incident.

State Congress communication wing head Sushil Anand Shukla on Wednesday alleged negligence on the plant management's part and accused the government of attempting to shield those responsible.

He also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and Rs 50 lakh for the injured.

The construction of a 1,200 MW coal-based thermal power project (two units of 600 MW each) in Singhitarai, originally owned by Athena Chhattisgarh Power Ltd, started in 2009, but remained stalled between 2016 and 2022.

Vedanta acquired the plant in 2022, after which a 600 MW unit was completed and commissioned in August last year, while the second unit is still under construction.

The deceased have been identified as Amrit Lal Patel, Thanda Ram Lahre, Udhab Singh Yadav, Rameshwar Mahilange, and Nadeem Ansari (all from Chhattisgarh); Susanta Jana, Sheikh Saifuddin, Manas Giri, Kailash Mahto, Shibnath Murmu, and Dipankar Singh (West Bengal), Tarun Kumar Ojha, Abdul Karim and Ashok Parhiya (Jharkhand), Raju Ram, Pappu Kumar and Brijesh Kumar (Uttar Pradesh), Aakib Khan and Ritesh Kumar (Bihar), and Chitranjan Dhulai of Madhya Pradesh, officials said.