Hockey India on Friday announced the 18-member team who will represent India at the prestigious FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela.
The Indian team grouped in pool D along with England, Spain and Wales will begin their campaign on 13th January 2023 in the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.
Ace dragflicker Harmanpreet Singh has been named the Captain of the squad with Amit Rohidas as the Vice Captain.
The midfield will see the return of young prodigy Vivek Sagar Prasad, who missed the recent tour of Australia as well as the FIH Hockey Pro League due to an ankle injury. He will be joined by Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh and the experienced Akashdeep Singh.
The forward line will feature Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and youngsters Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh who continue to impress after making their debut earlier this year. The two alternate players chosen are Rajkumar Pal and Jugraj Singh.
Talking about the team selection, Chief Coach Graham Reid said, “The World Cup is the most important “Hockey Only” tournament there is. A home World Cup puts extra importance and extra pressure on this event like no other”.
India will begin their World Cup campaign against Spain on 13th January in Rourkela followed by their second pool D match against England. They will move to Bhubaneswar to play their third pool match against Wales. The knockout stage will begin with crossover matches on 22nd and 23rd January and the Quarterfinals on 25th and Semifinals on 27th January. The bronze medal match and the final will be held on 29th January.
Indian hockey squad will be as follows——
Goalkeeper: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran
Defender: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice-Captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Midfielder: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh
Forward: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh
Alternate Players: Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh.
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