Manpreet Singh to lead Indian Men's Hockey Team for Commonwealth Games

New Delhi, June 20, 2022

Manpreet Singh was today named as the captain of the 18-member Indian Men's Hockey Team for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to begin on July 29 in Birmingham.

Dragflick specialist Harmanpreet Singh, the highest goal scorer of the FIH Hockey Pro League, has been named as the vice-captain of the team announced by Hockey India.

India, grouped in pool B along with England, Canada, Wales and Ghana will begin their campaign on July 31 against Ghana.

Manpreet Singh had led the Indian team to a historic bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo last year.

The squad includes the experienced goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and Krishan B Pathak, who returns to the team after a brief injury break.

Defenders Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh have been named in the team. The midfield includes the experience of Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Nilakanta Sharma, while experienced strikers Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh and Abhishek will lead the charge in attack.

India had finished a disappointing fourth in the last Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast but the team is full of confidence after an impressive outing in the FIH Pro League this year.

Chief Coach Graham Reid said, "We have gone with a tried-and-tested team for the Commonwealth Games. These players have the experience of playing top teams in high pressure games in the FIH Pro League which was a good exposure for us ahead of the prestigious quadrennial event."

"After a brief break when we return home from Netherlands, we will resume camp in SAI, Bengaluru where we will analyze our performance against Belgium and Netherlands. While there are many takeaways from this outing in FIH Pro League, there surely are a few areas that we can improve upon ahead of the Commonwealth Games," he said.

The team:

GOALKEPERS: 1. Sreejesh P. R. 2. Krishan Bahadur Pathak

DEFENDERS: 3. Varun Kumar 4. Surender Kumar 5. Harmanpreet Singh (VC) 6. Amit Rohidas 7. Jugraj Singh 8. Jarmanpreet Singh

MIDFIELDERS: 9. Manpreet Singh (C) 10. Hardik Singh 11. Vivek Sagar Prasad 12. Shamsher Singh 13. Akashdeep Singh 14. Nilakanta Sharma

FORWARDS: 15. Mandeep Singh 16. Gurjant Singh 17. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay 18. Abhishek

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