New Delhi, 18 November 2019: 33 Core Probables named by Hockey India reported for the Senior Men’s National Camp today, 18 November at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar. The players reported to Chief Coach Graham Reid for a three-week Training and Conditioning Camp which will conclude on 8 December 2019.
The Indian Men's Hockey Team recently secured their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by defeating Russia 11-3 on aggregate at the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha. The team will now look to regroup and evaluate their performances at the recently held Qualifiers. With focus now shifting on to the FIH Pro League 2020 which kick-starts in January 2020, the Core Probables will undergo three weeks of routine fitness training to maintain their levels and stay in the rhythm, which will then be followed by another training camp scheduled to begin 29 December 2019.
The Core Probables list includes Goalkeepers P R Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera and Krishan Bahadur Pathak. Defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Varun Kumar, Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurinder Singh, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Jarmanpreet Singh and Dispan Tirkey have been called-up. Midfielders Manpreet Singh, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Jaskaran Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Ashis Kumar Topno, Sayyad Niyaz Rahim and Raj Kumar Pal have been included in the list. While Forwards Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Gursahibjit Singh, Shamsher Singh, Simranjeet Singh, SV Sunil, Gurjant Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay have also been called-up for the camp.
"Given there is no tournament immediately following this 3-week camp in Bhubaneswar, it is a perfect opportunity for us to change focus from team tactics to more about individual improvement. We will do this through detailed analysis and review from our performances last season including the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers Odisha. This will provide a good road-map for us in our quest to squeeze as much improvement as we can in the next nine months," expressed Chief Coach Graham Reid.
Core Probables List
GOALKEEPERS
1. P R Sreejesh
2. Suraj Karkera
3. Krishan Bahadur Pathak
DEFENDERS
4. Harmanpreet Singh
5. Birendra Lakra
6. Surender Kumar
7. Amit Rohidas
8. Varun Kumar
9. Rupinder Pal Singh
10. Gurinder Singh
11. Kothajit Singh Khadangbam
12. Nilam Sanjeep Xess
13. Jarmanpreet Singh
14. Dipsan Tirkey
MIDFIELDERS
15. Manpreet Singh
16. Sumit
17. Nilakanta Sharma
18. Jaskaran Singh
19. Hardik Singh
20. Vivek Sagar Prasad
21. Ashis Kumar Topno
22. Sayyad Niyaz Rahim
23. Raj Kumar Pal
FORWARDS
24. Mandeep Singh
25. Akashdeep Singh
26. Shilanand Lakra
27. Gursahibjit Singh
28. Shamsher Singh
29. Simranjeet Singh
30. SV Sunil
31. Gurjant Singh
32. Ramandeep Singh
33. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay