The team at the Men’s Hockey Pro League 2023 for March leg will be led by Harmanpreet Singh and Hardik Singh who has been promoted to the position of vice-captain.
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David John, the former High Performance Director of the Indian men’s hockey team, and BJ Kariappa, the ex-junior India coach, have been appointed as interim coaches for the team’s Pro League matches in Rourkela in March. Shivendra Singh, who is already a part of the support staff, will assist them. The appointments were made following the resignation of the team’s chief coach Graham Reid, analytical coach Gregg Clark, and scientific advisor Mitchell Pemberton. This was owing to India’s poor performance in the World Cup held in January. Their ninth-place finish was also the worst performance by a host nation in the tournament’s history.
The interim coaches, John and Kariappa, are currently working in the Odisha sports department, with John serving as the Director of Hockey and Kariappa employed as the Chief Coach for hockey. John had previously worked with the Indian team as a physiotherapist in 2011, before returning as the High Performance Director in 2016. He resigned from his position with Hockey India in 2020 and joined the Odisha sports department in 2022. Kariappa, on the other hand, had previously coached the Indian junior team before leaving the position last year to join the Odisha sports department.
Hockey India has also announced a 20-member squad for the upcoming Pro League matches, which will include games against Germany, the newly-crowned world champions, and Australia, the silver medalists from the Tokyo Olympics. The team will be led by Harmanpreet Singh, a defender and drag-flicker, while Hardik Singh has been promoted to the position of vice-captain after his good performance at the World Cup. The selected squad will continue to train in Bengaluru until March 6 before heading to Rourkela for the Pro League matches. India will play three matches against Germany and Australia, starting on March 10. The final match will take place on March 15, where India will face off against Australia for the second time.
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The squad will be experimental in nature, with goalkeeper PR Sreejesh retaining his place, and Pawan replacing Krishan Bahadur Pathak, who has taken personal leave for his marriage. The Indian men’s hockey team has finalized their squad for the upcoming Men’s Hockey Pro League matches. A new goalkeeper, Pawan, has been selected to replace Krishan Bahadur Pathak who has taken leave for his marriage. The squad includes veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and some new faces. The remaining players who were not selected for the Pro League matches have been released to participate in the Senior Men’s Inter-Department National Championships in Bengaluru.
Squad: PR Sreejesh, Pawan (Goalkeepers), Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Manjeet, Manpreet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess (Defenders), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Vishnukant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh (Midfielders), S Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Gurjant Singh (Forwards)
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