The Hero Men’s Asia Cup 2017 is 15 days away and the Indian Men’s Hockey Team is in their final preparations for the prestigious tournament in Dhaka where they participate as title-favourites.
Hockey India on Saturday announced the 18-member Indian men’s hockey team for the Asia Cup which takes place from October 11th- 22nd in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The team will be captained by Manpreet Singh while S.V Sunil will shoulder the duties of vice-captain.
The midfielder player Sardar Singh on Saturday returned to the national team as Hockey India named a strong 18-member squad.
After giving some top junior players some good exposure in the recent Europe Tour, Hockey India named a squad with a balance of youth and experience. Goalkeepers Akash Chikte and Suraj Karkera retain their spot in the squad whereas defenders Harmanpreet Singh and Surender Kumar make a return after being rested for the Europe Tour.
“My first few days with the team has been about understanding each one of them. Of course, I already knew all of them by name and I was aware of the immense talent and energy they bring as players. I am now focusing on understanding how the team wants to play so I can set goals for the training sessions on where they want to improve,” expressed Marijne after officially joining the team last week.
In the eight-team tournament, India are placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Japan and Pakistan. They will open their campaign against Japan on October 11. Their second match will be against Bangladesh on October 13 before they face their arch-rivals Pakistan on October 15, 2017.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Suraj Karkera; Defenders: Dipsan Tirkey, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar; Midfielders: SK Uthappa, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Sumit; Forwards: SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh, Satbir Singh.