Srinagar: In a major achievement for Hockey J&K, two young players from the Union Territory have been selected among the probables for India’s Under-18 men’s and women’s hockey teams for the upcoming Asia Cup to be held in Japan.
According to Hockey J&K, Varunpreet Singh has been selected among the probables for the Indian U-18 men’s team, which is scheduled to participate in the Men’s U-18 Asia Cup at Kakamigahara from May 29 to June 6.
Varunpreet was part of the J&K squad that participated in the 16th Hockey India Sub Junior National Hockey Championship 2026 held at Rajgir. He impressed during the tournament and was adjudged Man of the Match in one of the fixtures.
He will now attend the national coaching camp to be held in Bhopal from April 19 under the supervision of national coach Sardara Singh.
Similarly, Akshara Dutta has been selected among the probables for the Indian U-18 women’s team for the Women’s U-18 Asia Cup, also scheduled to be held at Kakamigahara, Japan, from May 29 to June 6.
Akshara was a member of the J&K team that competed in the 16th Hockey India Sub Junior National Women Championship 2026 at Ranchi. She emerged as the top scorer in her pool and earned two Man of the Match awards during the championship.
She will join the national camp in Bhopal under national coach Rani Rampal.
Officials of Hockey J&K termed the selection of the two players as a proud moment for the Union Territory and credited the achievement to the efforts made by the present body of the association under the leadership of Gurdeep Singh.
They said that since taking over in May 2025, the present team has organised several tournaments across different age groups in various districts of Jammu and Kashmir and also conducted the J&K UT Championship after a gap of three years.
The officials added that the recent performances of J&K players at the national level reflect a significant improvement in the standard of hockey in the Union Territory.
