Asia Cup 2022 | Rupinder Pal Singh to lead new-look Team India
Hockey India on Monday named the 20-member Indian Men's Hockey team for Men's Asia Cup scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 23rd May to 1st June 2022. The prestigious event which is a World Cup qualifier will see India, Japan, Pakistan and hosts Indonesia, battle it out in Pool A.
The Defending Champions India will be led by Olympic Bronze Medalists Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra will shoulder the responsibility as Vice-Captain. The team will see as many as 10 players make their senior India debut. This includes FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup players Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Manjeet, Vishnukant Singh, and Uttam Singh. Also new on the team will be Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, and S Karthi.
The Indian team includes goalkeepers Pankaj Kumar Rajak, Suraj Karkera, defenders Rupinder Pal Singh, Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Birendra Lakra, Manjeet, Dipsan Tirkey, Vishnukant Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Simranjeet Singh. Forwards Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, SV Sunil, Uttam Singh, and S.Karthi have also been named in the squad.
Junior World Cup players Maninder Singh and Nilam Sanjeep Xess have been named as replacement players while Pawan, Pardeep Singh, Ankit Pal and Angad Bir Singh have been named as standbys.
Speaking about the team composition, Coach BJ Kariappa said, "The team is a good mix of experienced senior players and newcomers, many of whom have played at the international level in different age-group matches but have not made their Senior India debut. Since India has already qualified for the FIH Men's World Cup by virtue of being the hosts, this will be a good platform for us to try out this new group and test how these players utilize the opportunity."
Former India Captain and two-time Olympian Sardar Singh who will also accompany the team as Coach expressed that the players have shown great potential over the last few months during the national camp. "This is a very talented group of players and I have seen them work really hard over the past few weeks to earn a place in the team. On a personal front, this will be my first tournament as India Coach and I am looking forward to this new experience," stated Sardar.
Indian Men's Team:
Goalkeepers
Pankaj Kumar Rajak
Suraj Karkera
Defenders
Rupinder Pal Singh (Captain)
Yashdeep Siwach
Abhisek Lakra
Birendra Lakra (Vice Captain)
Manjeet
Dipsan Tirkey
Midfielders
Vishnukant Singh
Raj Kumar Pal
Mareeswaren Sakthivel
Sheshe Gowda BM
Simranjeet Singh
Forwards
Pawan Rajbhar
Abharan Sudev
SV Sunil
Uttam Singh
S.Karthi
Replacement Players
Maninder Singh
Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Standbys:
Pawan
Pardeep Singh
Ankit Pal
Angad Bir Singh
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