Craig Fulton, the new chief coach of the Indian men’s hockey team, has already begun to make significant changes to the 24-member squad. The team is set to compete in the Pro League in Europe later this month.
Fulton has welcomed Olympic hero Simranjeet Singh back into the team. Although Singh scored two goals in the bronze medal match against Germany in Tokyo, he had been absent from the team for two years. After suffering a knee injury and then a hamstring injury, Singh only played in one match over the last two years against Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Jakarta.
Other changes include the selection of Sumit and the debut of Sanjay, who scored eight goals at the 2021 Junior World Cup. Meanwhile, former India skipper and Olympic bronze medallist Manpreet Singh has been given a new role in defense rather than his previous position as an attacking midfielder. Goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak has also returned to the squad after missing the home Pro League matches earlier in the year due to his wedding.
The upcoming Pro League tournament against Belgium, Holland, Great Britain, and Argentina will be the team’s first assignment under Fulton. “This tournament will be a great opportunity for us to compete against top-ranked teams and further improve our overall game. We are looking forward to the challenge and hope to have a strong finish to the Pro League,” Fulton said.
India currently leads the Pro League standings with 19 points after eight matches. The team will play reigning Olympic champions Belgium and hosts Great Britain in London, followed by matches against hosts and world No.1 Netherlands and world No.7 Argentina in Eindhoven.
India’s 24-member squad:
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay, Mandeep Mor, Gurinder Singh
Midfielders: Hardik Singh (vice-captain), Dilpreet Singh, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad
Forwards: Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, S Karthi, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh.