Midfielders
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Sardar Singh:The Haryanvi lad was elevated to captain after the London Olympics where he became the heart and soul of the team. Was named in the list of nominees for FIH player of the year. Under him, the team went on to win the bronze medal in Hockey World League finals 2015 and Gold in Asian Games 2014 which helped India qualify for the Rio Olympics.
While his hockey stick was doing all the talking, his personal problems took a toll on him as he lost his captaincy to Sreejesh for the Rio Olympics.
Kothajit Singh:
Kothajit Singh has been a part of the Indian team and often an unsung hero of the Indian team. He was the part of the silver medal-winning side at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and he scored the most important goal for India in the finals of Asian Games where India beat Pakistan to qualify for the Rio Olympics. His consistency has been rewarded as he was selected to be a part of the Indian team which will participate in Rio Olympics.
Gurbaj Singh:
He was sacked after the London Olympics and his attitude was questioned but he made a successful comeback in the squad and formed a great partnership with forward SV Sunil on the right flank. His defensive duties also helped India during the tricky situations. Gurbaj was banned by Hockey India after questioning the quality of food – and despite getting his ban overturned, he finds himself out of the side for Rio Olympics.
Manpreet Singh:
Was one of India’s most impressive performer of Indian team during London Olympics, and he has kept on improving and adding new weapons to his armor every day. With the passage of time, Manpreet Singh has shown versatility on the field even chipping with drag flicks during penalty corners.
Touted as the future captain of Indian team, Manpreet has been handed the responsibility of marshaling the midfield in the upcoming Rio Olympics.
Birendra Lakra:
Looking at his defensive capabilities, Birendra Lakra was made to play as the defender and probably that was the best decision taken by Indian team management. Birendra’s performance as defender gave hope to many Indians who were worried about the leaky defense which earned the best player of the year during the inaugural Hockey India annual awards.
A knee injury cut his Hockey India League 2016 campaign short and despite making a comeback in Valencia 6 nation hockey tournament, he was not selected for Rio Olympics as he was not fully fit and the coach did not want to take chances with his health.
