Harmanpreet Singh to lead Indian men’s hockey team at 2023 FIH World Cup in Odisha; Amit Rohidas named vice-captain

Modified Dec 23, 2022 14:07 IST

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Ace drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will lead India's 18-member national hockey team at the next month’s FIH Hockey Men’s World Cup to be held in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Amit Rohidas has been named vice-captain of the team.

There were 33 probables in the final camp and Hockey India announced the squad on Friday after two days of national selection trials held at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru.

India is grouped in pool D with England, Spain and Wales.

“A home World Cup puts extra pressure. Every country chooses the best team they believe is available to them at the time and tries to provide best preparation they can,” chief coach Graham Reid said. “We have also tried to do both with the selection of our Indian World Cup team. We have a mixture of experienced and young players.”

The chief coach also stressed on an excellent preparation period heading into the World Cup, including a home Pro League series and a tough tour to Australia.

“We are looking forward to getting to Odisha and put the finishing touches to our preparations for what will be an exciting and challenging tournament ahead,” Reid added.

Seasoned goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan B Pathak have been named in India's squad for the 2023 World Cup, while the defensive unit will consist of skipper Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh and Nilam Sanjeep Xess.

Vivek Sagar Prasad, who missed the recent tour of Australia and the FIH Pro League due to an ankle injury, has returned to the national squad. Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh and the experienced Akashdeep Singh will feature in the mid-field.

Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and youngsters Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh have also been selected. Hockey India have also selected two alternate players in Rajkumar Pal and Jugraj Singh.

India will begin their World Cup campaign against Spain on January 13 in Rourkela, followed by their second pool D match against England. The Indian team will move to Bhubaneswar to play their third pool match against Wales.

The knockout stage will begin on January 22 and the quarterfinals will be held on January 25. The semifinals are on January 27, followed by the bronze medal match and the Hockey World Cup 2023 final on January 29.