Manpreet Singh to lead India in next month’s Asian Champions Trophy

SportsCafe Desk
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Team for the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy, to be held in Muskat, was announced on Wednesday as PR Sreejesh was replaced by Manpreet Singh as the captain of the Indian team. India will be without the services of midfielder Sardar Singh who announced his retirement recently.

Men's hockey team has improved and has promised a lot which is represented by their FIH ranking of five, currently better than the likes of Germany and England. But their on-field performances have been a dampener, for instance, the Bronze-winning performance in the 2018 Asian Games, where they were the favourites, was a sheer disappointment. The team would be looking to improve their performance in the upcoming Asian Champions Trophy and be ready for the Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneshwar later this year. An 18-member squad was announced for the tournament starting on October 18th.

Starting from defenders, HIhave included Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Gurinder Singh, and Varun Kumar and in the mid-field, India have skipper Manpreet Singh along with his deputy Chinglensana Singh Kangujam. They will be joined by the experienced campaigner Lalit Upadhyay and youngsters Sumit and Nilkantha Sharma.

The goal-post will be manned by former captain PR Sreejesh while Krishan Pathak will travel with the team as his backup. In Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Indian forward promises a lot.

Coach Harendra Singh, on being asked about the team composition, said "I believe we have a great mix of players in this 18-member team as there is a right balance between youth and experience. "The tournament gives us the last chance to test a few players before the World Cup Bhubaneswar and I'm sure that these players will produce the results in Oman. It is important we stick to our plans and have a good outing in this tournament so that we can wash away the bad memories of the Asian Games," as reported by PTI.

The teams participating in the tournament, apart from India, are Pakistan, Malaysia, South Korea, the Asian Games Gold medal winners Japan and participating by virtue of them being the hosts -Oman.

Defenders: Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Gurinder Singh, Varun Kumar.

Midfielders:  Manpreet Singh (Captain), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice Captain),Sumit Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh

Goal Keeper: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak

Editor's Note: The original version of the article had Mandeep Singh as India's captain. We have rectified it to Manpreet Singh and we hope it never happens again. 

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