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The Indian Men's Hockey Team departed for Birmingham on Saturday (July 23) with less than a week left until the Commonwealth Games (CWG 2022),.
The Manpreet Singh-led side have wrapped up their month-long training session at the National Camp at the SAI Center in Bengaluru to take off for the UK. The 2022 CWG is slated to take place between July 28 and August 8, 2022.
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The Indian men's hockey team bagged two silver medals at the 2010 and 2014 CWG, respectively. They finished fourth in the 2018 edition of the Games.
The in-form Indian men's hockey team, this time around, will enter the quadrennial showpiece event, aiming to end the six-time champions Australia's dominance.
Skipper Manpreet Singh spoke to the media about his team's preparations and mindset ahead of their departure. He said:
"We are quite excited about this event as we have been training for this competition for quite some time now, and we are looking forward to putting on our best show against some of the best teams in the world. Having worked on our strengths and weaknesses over the last few months, we will do whatever it takes to win a medal here."
He further added:
"Everyone is excited and looking forward to giving their 100 percent. Right now, we are focused on reaching Birmingham and getting accustomed to the weather and playing conditions there. We are also preparing for our first game, as a strong start against Ghana will be crucial in kicking off our campaign."
CWG 2022: Indian men's hockey team schedule
The 2020 Olympic bronze medalists have been drawn alongside England, Canada, Ghana and Wales in Pool B. They will play their opener against Ghana on July 31.
Men's Hockey Team 2022 CWG fixtures
Match 1: India vs Ghana
Date: July 31, 2022 Timings: 8:30 pm IST
Match 2: England vs India
Date: August 1, 2022 Timings: 8:30 pm IST
Match 3: Canada vs India
Date: August 3, 2022 Timings: 6:30 pm IST
Match 4: India vs Wales
Date: August 4, 2022 Timings: 6:30 pm IST
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals for both the men's and women's hockey teams will depend on the performances in the pool stage matches. These fixtures will be announced at a later date.
CWG 2022: Indian Men's hockey team
The following 18 Indian players have been selected for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Goalkeepers: Sreejesh P.R. and Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (vice-captain), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, and Jarmanpreet Singh.
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (captain), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, and Nilakanta Sharma
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, and Abhishek.
