Manpreet Singh to lead India's men's hockey team in Asian Championships

While Manpreet Singh will captain the team, star dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has been named vice-captain for the tournament.

India's Olympic bronze medal winning hockey team captain Manpreet Singh. (Image: Twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Nov 26, 2021 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Manpreet Singh, an Olympic bronze medalist, will captain a 20-member Indian men’s hockey team that will not include veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh at next month’s Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka. While Manpreet will captain the team, star dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has been named vice-captain for the tournament, which will be held from December 14 to 22. The squad for the tournament, India’s first outing since the Olympics in Tokyo, includes a number of new faces. Sreejesh, the team’s talismanic goalkeeper, has been rested, and Krishan Bahadur Pathak and Suraj Karkera will take his place in goal.

Harmanpreet Singh will lead India’s defence forces alongside Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, and Mandeep Mor. Manpreet Singh will play in the midfield alongside Hardik Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Sumit, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, and the experienced Akashdeep Singh. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, and Shilanand Lakra will lead the forward line. 

The defending champions, India, will open their campaign against Korea on the first day. Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are the other teams competing in the tournament.

‘EYES ON THE FUTURE’

Talking about the composition of the side, chief coach Graham Reid said, “While selecting this team we now must have our eyes on the future. It takes a deep and strong squad to build sustained success so players have to be given opportunities to perform.”

“We have picked a team that has a good mix of experience and younger guys who will have their chance to show what they can do. It is a hectic match schedule and given the COVID situation FIH and AHF have allowed 18 players to be chosen each game out of a greater squad of 20,” he added.

India’s first match will be against Korea on December 14, followed by games against hosts Bangladesh (December 15), archrival Pakistan (December 17), Malaysia (December 18), and Japan (December 19). The semi-finals are set for December 21, followed by the championship match the following day.

The previous edition of the event, held in Muscat, Oman, saw India and Pakistan share the title after the final was cancelled due to heavy rains.

Indian team

Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera.

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Mandeep Mor.

Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Sumit, Rajkumar Pal, Akashdeep Singh, Shamsher Singh.

Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra.