India men’s hockey team to undergo 18-day national camp for FIH Pro League
After a successful European tour, the Indian men’s hockey team is all set to start its national camp in preparation for the FIH Pro League matches against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Hockey India has announced a 33-member probable list for the 18-day camp, which will be held at the SAI Center in Bengaluru from March 13-31.
“The team was given a brief three-day break to go meet their families before they return to the National Camp on Saturday. I think this break was needed to refresh mentally as the upcoming weeks are going to be quite intense as we prepare for the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Argentina," said India head coach Graham Reid.
The Indian team returned to the field this month after a long break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It began the European tour on a bright note, pummeling Germany 6-1.
India then played out 1-1 draws against Germany and Great Britain before concluding the tour with a 3-2 win over Great Britain.
India to face Argentina on April 10 & 11 in Buenos Aires
India will lock horns with the 2016 Olympic champions Argentina on April 10 and 11. The Pro League games will also serve as good preparation for the Tokyo Olympics. Following their matches against Argentina, India will play eight games against four different teams in May, as part of the same competition.
After a confidence-boosting show in Europe, the Indian men's hockey team is upbeat ahead of the tough FIH Hockey Pro League.
“We are looking forward to resuming our campaign in the FIH Hockey Pro League. Getting good competition in Europe was certainly very important ahead of the Pro League matches. We were in good nick when we played Netherlands, Belgium and Australia last year and we want to bring our ‘A’ game to the fore in the upcoming matches,” said Reid.
India, who won the FIH Men’s Series Finals in Bhubaneswar in 2019 to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, have won only two out of six games so far in the league.
The probables:
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak, and Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Birendra Lakra, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Dipsan Tirkey, Nilam Sanjeep Xess.
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Jaskaran Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad.
Forwards: SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Gurjant Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, and Shilanand Lakra