KUALA LUMPUR: Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who won back-to-back bronze at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, will coach the Indian team for the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup (SoJC) which begins on Saturday.
The 36-year-old from Kerala retired after the Paris Olympics in August with 336 caps, and the SoJC will be his first coaching assignment.
Three-time champions India will open their campaign against Japan at the Taman Daya Stadium in Johor Baru.
The other teams in the fray are Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and Malaysia.
India will have defender Amir Ali and forward Gurjot Singh who featured for their senior team that won the Asian Champions Trophy in Inner Mongolia, China, last month.
"All the players are excited to play some intense hockey matches in Malaysia," Rohit said in a Hockey India release.
"We have an Indian hockey legend taking charge of the team, the whole team is raring to go. We look forward to making him proud in our first tournament."