Lagatar24 Desk
Bhubaneswar, April 11: Hockey India has named a 22-man Indian Men’s Hockey Team for the forthcoming FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League double-header against Germany, which will begin on April 14 at the historic Kalinga Hockey Stadium. Amit Rohidas will lead the Indian team, with Harmanpreet Singh serving as his deputy.
Goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak, as well as defenders Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, and Gurinder Singh, make up the 22-man team.
Nilakanta Sharma, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, and Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh will play in the midfield, while Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Mandeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Akashdeep Singh will play in the forward line.
“This year’s FIH Pro League has provided us with great opportunities to try different combinations and tactics. We have recognised what works and, more importantly, what areas we need to improve on. This week against Germany is the last leg of our home games for this year and we are looking forward to two more world-class encounters once again. Germany is always an extremely tough opponent and given where we both are on the ladder it will be important for us to finish this week with as many points as possible to remain at the top of the points table,” Chief Coach Graham Reid said, speaking about the team.
Notably, the squad now leads the table with 21 points, with Germany in second position with 17 points after eight games. The Indian team defeated South Africa (10-2, 10-2) at home, then won and lost games against France (5-0, 2-5) in South Africa. India won one game 5-4 and lost one 3-5 against Spain at home, won one game 4-3 and lost one 2-2 (1-3 SO) against Argentina, and recently won both games 3-3 (3-2 SO) and 4-3 versus England.
