Pune, Jan 15 (IANS): Defending champions Pune FC will be led by senior academy cadet Henry Monsang in the Under-19 I-League. The Manipuri-born defender is one of the four Peninsula Pune Football Club Academy (PPFCA) players from the first batch (2011-2013).

Drawn in the Maharashtra zone of the two-tier restructured League, double champions Pune FC begin their campaign with an away game against Kenkre FC Friday, Jan 17.

Four senior cadets -- Avilash Paul, Henry Monsang, Subhasish Bose (all part of last year’s winning team in Jamshedpur) and Syed Shoaib Ahmed apart from 20 junior cadets make up the team who are out with the aim of completing a hat-trick of titles.

This year Pune FC’s twenty four-member squad is a mix of the Under-19 and 17 Academy set up.

The 20 new faces include twelve Under-19 cadets and eight U-17s who were shortlisted for the two-year 2013-15 academy batch.

The youngest of the squad is defender Manoranjan Singh at 15 years and two months.

The other teams making up the five-team zone include Mumbai FC, PIFA Colaba FC and AIFF Navi Mumbai Academy.