India on Monday named a pudgy-strength 18-member senior males’s hockey squad for the Commonwealth Games with Manpreet Singh returning as captain and dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh as his deputy.
Hockey India (HI) had at the foundation determined to send a 2d-string crew to the CWG attributable to the brief turnaround time between the Birmingham tournament and the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Alternatively, with the Asian Games now postponed to subsequent year owing to the COVID-19 direct in China, HI determined to spend a stable crew for the present tournament, scheduled to originate from July 28.
The Indian crew has been grouped in pool B along with England, Canada, Wales and Ghana.
The 2-time extinct silver medallists will originate their campaign on July 31 in opposition to Ghana.
Manpreet had led the Indian crew to a ancient bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo final year and he will remove over the reins from Amit Rohidas, who modified into the captain for the FIH Pro League tour of Belgium and the Netherlands.
Harmanpreet, who has been named the deputy, emerged because the ideal unbiased scorer of the FIH Hockey Pro League.
“We have got long gone with a tried-and-tested crew for the Commonwealth Games. These gamers have the ride of playing prime teams in excessive stress games in the FIH Pro League which modified into a correct kind publicity for us forward of the present quadrennial tournament,” chief coach Graham Reid said in a delivery.
“After a brief spoil when we return residence from Netherlands, we are able to resume camp in SAI, Bengaluru where we are able to analyze our efficiency in opposition to Belgium and Netherlands.
“Whereas there are hundreds takeaways from this present day out in FIH Pro League, there no doubt are about a areas that we are able to make stronger upon forward of the Commonwealth Games.” The squad entails skilled goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Krishan B Pathak, who returns to the crew after a brief hurt spoil. Defenders Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh were named in the crew.
The midfield contains Manpreet, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Nilakanta Sharma.
Seasoned strikers Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh and Abhishek will lead the worth in assault.
Goalkeeper Suraj Karkera and forwards Shilanand Lakra and Sukhjeet Singh, who were share of the FIH Pro League, are missing from the squad.
India had accomplished fourth at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Flee.
Team:
GOALKEPERS: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak DEFENDERS: Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (VC), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh.
MIDFIELDERS: Manpreet Singh (C), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Nilakanta Sharma FORWARDS: Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek.