Bhubaneswar : , India hockey team captain Manpreet Singh is leading a contingent of 20 in the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy.The event will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from December 14-22.
PR Sreejesh, a veteran goalkeeper, is not part of the squad. India, the defending champions, will start their campaign against South Korea on the opening day.There are also teams from Japan, Malaysia and Pakistan, as well as Bangladesh, the hosts.
Harmanpreet Singh will serve as Manpreet’s deputy.
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Dilpreet Sing will lead the forward-line.Gursahibjit, Gursahibjit, Shilanand Lakra and Gursahibjit Se are also involved.
Graham Reid, the chief coach, said after the announcement that the squad was selected with an eye on the future.India has a busy schedule for 2022.
They will be playing in the Asian Games in Hangzhou (China), which is the automatic qualification event to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“We must now keep our eyes on the future when selecting this team.
Reid stated that it takes a strong and diverse team to achieve sustained success.Players must be given the opportunity to perform.”
“We chose a team with a good mix between older players and younger players who will get their chance to prove what they can do.It’s a busy match schedule.AHF (Asian Hockey Federation), and FIH (international hockey federation), have allowed 18 players to be selected each game from a larger squad of 20.
“The Asian Champions Trophy will give all teams the chance to compete in the next Olympiad (Olympic Games).He said that they were looking forward to the challenge.
India will face Bangladesh in their second match on December 15.Their third match will be against arch-rivals Pakistan, on December 17, followed by India’s match against Malaysia on December 18.The semifinals will take place on December 21 and the final on December 22.
The title was jointly won by India and Pakistan in the previous edition held in Muscat Oman.However, the final was postponed due to incessant rains.
Indian men’s hockey team
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Paak, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Mandeep Mor.
Midfielders: Hardik Sing, Manpreet Sing (capt), Jaskaran Sin, Sumit, Rajkumar Pal and Akashdeep Singh.Shamsher Singh is the Shamsher Singh.
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra.
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