Experienced ahead Akashdeep Singh and kids Jugraj Singh and Selvam Karthi, who had been all a part of India’s Asian Champions Trophy successful squad in August, had been dropped from the Asian Games-bound squad as Hockey India (HI) on Thursday introduced the lads’s and ladies’s groups heading to Hangzhou.
India’s Akashdeep Singh celebrates after scoring a aim in the course of the Asian Champions Trophy 2023 last (PTI)
Once the principle ahead of the group, Akashdeep, who additionally missed the lower for Tokyo Olympics, was not chosen within the 18-member outfit regardless of being India’s second highest scorer in Chennai with 4 targets. Forward Karthi and drag-flicker Jugraj, who scored two and three targets in Tamil Nadu, had been additionally not picked.
Instead, Olympic bronze medallist Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, drag-flicker Sanjay and midfielder Abhishek will purpose to assist India win gold and earn a direct berth for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The group shall be led by skipper Harmanpreet Singh with Hardik Singh as his deputy. India are in Pool A with defending champions Japan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Uzbekistan. South Korea, Malaysia, China, Oman, Thailand and Indonesia are in Pool B. Harmanpreet and firm will open their marketing campaign towards Uzbekistan on September 24.
Chief coach Janneke Schopman, alternatively, shall be heading to Hangzhou with the identical squad that went to Terrassa for the four-nation invitational tour of Spain in July – the final worldwide outing for the Indian girls’s group.
The Indian girls’s group are positioned in Pool A with South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Holders Japan, China, Thailand, Kazakhstan and Indonesia are in Pool B. The Savita Punia led group, with Deep Grace Ekka as her deputy, will open towards Singapore on September 27.
“I feel very proud that the teams are on the right path to greater success. The recent Asian Champions Trophy victory in Chennai and the women’s team winning some important matches in their recent tours and the inaugural FIH Nations Cup is a testimony to the team’s determination and calibre. I have no doubt in my mind that both teams will succeed in China and win their Olympic berths,” HI President Dilip Tirkey mentioned throughout a send-off ceremony in Bengaluru.
The Indian groups will go away for Hangzhou on September 19 and can proceed to coach in Bengaluru till then.
Men’s squad: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Sanjay, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Abhishek, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.
Women’s squad: Savita Punia (C), Bichu Devi Kharibam, Deepika, Lalremsiami, Monika, Navneet Kaur, Neha, Nisha, Sonika, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Deep Grace Ekka, Vandana Katariya, Sangita Kumari, Vaishnavi Vittal Phalke, Nikki Pradhan, Sushila Chanu and Salima Tete
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Source: www.hindustantimes.com
