Rupinder Pal Singh returns to the national team set up and will lead the side as Hockey India on Monday named 20-member Indian men’s hockey team for the forthcoming 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 in pool A while Malaysia, Korea, Oman and Bangladesh are grouped in pool B.
India however have already qualified for the 2023 World Cup in Odisha as the hosts.
The Asia Cup defending champions India will be led by Olympic bronze medalists Rupinder and Birendra Lakra, who will shoulder the responsibility as vice captain. Both of them had announced their retirement post Olympics but are making a comeback to the national set up as reported earlier this year. SV Sunil also is a prominent name to feature in the squad.
Speaking about the team composition, coach BJ Kariappa (who is the designated junior national team in-charge) 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. He had been appointed as the India A coach earlier this year. The former midfielder said, “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.”
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 in 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 player 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.
The 11th edition of the quadrennial event will take place at GBK Sports Complex Hockey Stadium, Jakarta, Indonesia. Host nation Indonesia will be participating in this event for the first time with India, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Oman completing the line-up:
Indian men’s team for Asia Cup in Jakarta:
Goalkeepers
1. Pankaj Kumar Rajak
2. Suraj Karkera
Defenders
3. Rupinder Pal Singh (Captain)
4. Yashdeep Siwach
5. Abhisek Lakra
6. Birendra Lakra (Vice Captain)
7. Manjeet
8. Dipsan Tirkey
Midfielders
9. Vishnukant Singh
10. Raj Kumar Pal
11. Mareeswaren Sakthivel
12. Sheshe Gowda BM
13. Simranjeet Singh
Forwards
14. Pawan Rajbhar
15. Abharan Sudev
16. SV Sunil
17. Uttam Singh
18. S.Karthi
Replacement players
19. Maninder Singh
20. Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Standbys:
1. Pawan
2. Pardeep Singh
3. Ankit Pal
4. Angad Bir Singh