Pune: Three Pune FC players have been named in the India Under-23 squad for the upcoming AFC U23 Championship 2016 Qualifiers which kicks off in Dhaka on March 27, 2015.

Striker Thongkhosiem Haokip, midfielder Nikhil Kadam and goalkeeper Amrinder Singh earned the nod in the 23-member squad announced by U23 National Team Coach Savio Medeira while ex-Pune FC defender Denechandra Meitei also made the cut.

While both Amrinder and Haokip have been part of the national youth team before, most recently in the Asian Games in Seoul, the selection into the main team is a first-ever for Kolhapur-born local-boy Nikhil Kadam.

The trio who were at the preparatory camp in Goa for almost three weeks have featured regularly for Pune FC this season and have shined in various competitions. Striker Thongkhosiem Haokip has made the most of the opportunities and is the current Indian top-scorer in the I-League with six goals to his name.

Meanwhile, Lalrempuia Fanai who didn’t make the final 23-man squad returned back to Pune FC last week and even featured in the Maha-Derby clash against Mumbai FC on Sunday.

The 23-member squad left for Dhaka earlier on Monday and will face West-Asian side Uzbekistan in the opener on March 27 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium. The game will be followed by clashes against Syria (March 29) and hosts Bangladesh (March 31) in Group-E at the same venue.

The AFC U23 Championship also serves as the preliminary phase of the 2016 Rio Olympic Qualifiers. All Group-winners along with the five best second-placed teams (from all Groups) will proceed to the final phase of the AFC U-23 Championships to be held in Doha, Qatar in 2016.

The team announced by Coach Savio Medeira is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Amrinder Singh, Albino Gomes, Rehenesh TP

Defenders: Abhishek Das, Satish Singh, Sankar Sampingraj, Deepak, Bikramjit Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Pritam Kotal

Midfielders: Germanpreet Singh, Nikhil Kadam, Denechandra Meitei, Prabir Das, Siam Hangal, Manish Bhargav, Avinash Rui Das

Forwards: Sumit Passi, Thongkhosiem Haokip, Rajinder Kumar, Jayesh Rane, Vinit Rai, Holicharan Narzary