Manpreet to lead, Sunil dropped
Chinglensana is vicecaptain of 18member squad
NEW DELHI: India named an 18-member squad under Manpreet Singh’s captaincy on Thursday for the Hockey World Cup, starting in Bhubaneswar on Nov 28. Fellow midfielder Chinglensana Singh will be his deputy in a squad that doesn’t have Rupinder Pal Singh and SV Sunil.
India, who finished fourth in the April Commonwealth Games and then had to settle for bronze in the Asian Games, will look to build on their performance in the Muscat Asian Champions Trophy last month, where they were joint winners with Pakistan after poor weather forced the final to be cancelled.
The hosts kick off against South Africa in a Group C tie on Nov 28. They play Belgium on Dec 2 and Canada on Dec 8. Only the group topper will qualify directly for the quarters. The squad holds no surprises, but chief coach Harendra Singh faces a huge challenge considering India’s poor record in the last two decades.
The seasoned PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak are the goalkeepers while Birendra Lakra is back in defence, the Odisha player having completed rehabilitation for injury that had sidelined him for the Asian Champions Trophy.
Six of the squad members were part of the victorious
2016 Junior World Cup squad -- top dragflicker, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Mandeep
Singh and Simranjeet Singh.
The task will be far tougher at senior level. India, the 1975 champions, were eighth the last time they staged the World Cup, in New Delhi in 2010. That is also their best showing in the last five editions.
The sharpness of midfielders Manpreet and Chinglensana will thus be vital for India. The frontline will be made up of the experienced Akashdeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyay, besides Mandeep and Simranjeet.
“We have chosen the best available combinations. We had to make some tough decisions to select 18 out of a very strong pool of 34 players. They are a mix of experience and youth and have been selected on the basis of their current form and fitness … I am confident India will put up a fighting performance,” Harendra said in a HI statement.