Captaincy flipflop continues
Sreejesh, named captain till end of 2018, is replaced by Manpreet THE CHANGES
NEW DELHI: Hockey India (HI) doesn’t keep its word, or so it seems. After announcing in April that PR Sreejesh will remain the men’s team captain till the end of the year, HI selectors have curiously decided to replace the veteran goalkeeper with Manpreet Singh for the Asian Champions Trophy which kicks off in Muscat on October 18.
It is within a gap just five months — and with barely two months to go for the World Cup in Bhubaneswar — that HI has effected a captaincy change.
Manpreet, who was conferred the Arjuna award on Tuesday, takes over the reins of the national team from the same person who had replaced him in April.
Chief national coach Harendra Singh said this is the “last chance to test a few players before the World Cup”, that too at a time when India’s best midfielder Sardar Singh has retired.
Seasoned forward SV Sunil, who was part of India’s winning campaign at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon and the silvermedal performance at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, has been “rested” and his place given to Gurjant Singh.
Given charge after the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games debacle, Harendra, while not delving on the issue of captaincy change, “as Hockey India is the competent authority to talk on the subject”, said that Sunil had been “rested as he has been playing tournaments continuously. We need to try out new players before the World Cup”.
The other notable names, who’ve failed to find a place in the squad are defenders Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas. The lanky Rupinder and Harmanpreet Singh were mainstays in defence at the Asian Games and HI hasn’t attributed any reason for dropping the tall defender who had returned to the team after a long injury layoff in November 2017.
The Manpreet Singh-led India will get a chance to avenge their semi-final defeat to Malaysia in the recently-concluded Asian Games when the Asian Champions Trophy, to be played on a round-robin format, kicks off in Oman.
Despite their Asian Games debacle, where India, ranked No 5 in the world, suffered a shocking loss to lower-ranked Malaysia and finally settled for bronze, the defending champions will be strong contenders.
India had defeated Pakistan in the 2016 edition at Kauntan, Malaysia, and barring any major upset in the six-team tournament should retain the title.
The tournament will feature six teams — Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, Japan, India and hosts Oman — who will play round-robin matches and the topfour will progress to the semi-finals. The experienced Sreejesh will continue to man the goal while the defence will see Kothajit Singh Khadangbam making a comeback.
Seasoned Harmanpreet, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar and Jarmanpreet Singh will also be involved in India’s defence while 20-yearold Hardik Singh will make his debut in the senior side.
Squad
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh. There are a few new faces in the India hockey squad. Here’s comparing it with the Asian Games one.
The tournament gives us the last chance to test a few players before the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018. On the Asian Champions Trophy