India’s men’s hockey team has done well in recent times with impressive performances in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the Asia Cup 2022 last year. The glory days are back for Indian hockey and the next challenge for them is the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
He won a bronze medal at the Olympics after registering a sensational 5-4 over Germany, which helped him regain the fan numbers he had dwindled over the years. Under the captaincy of Rupinder Pal Singh, India The Asia Cup had a memorable campaign where they beat Japan 1–0 in the bronze medal match.
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However, the fans now have high expectations from the Indian team and want them to improve their game and win the gold medal in Birmingham.
India have been placed in Pool B, which includes hosts England, Wales, Canada and Ghana. He will start his campaign against Ghana on 31 July. England is going to be their toughest competitor in the group. The top two teams will advance to the semi-finals and India have a strong chance of getting there but the primary focus is on top of the group.
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Scotland will compete for a place in the semi-finals in Pool A.
India does not have the best records in the Commonwealth Games as they have managed to win just two medals in five matches. Whereas they failed to qualify for the event in 2002.
They finished fourth in the 2018 event after losing the bronze medal match to England. Manpreet Singh & Co will be aiming to take revenge on the hosts this time in a group stage clash.
Meanwhile, India will also have to keep an eye on Australia, which has always been a big threat to them in the Commonwealth Games. They lost twice to the No. 1 ranked Australian team in the CWG finals (2010 and 2014).
Senior stars will be eyeing to get work done in Birmingham. PR Sreejesh has a big role to play as a goalkeeper once again, with India relying heavily on him during the set-piece. Although India have a solid defensive unit, the onus will be on vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh to motivate the team from behind. While skipper Manpreet has the task of joining the star forward to break the opposition’s defence.
India men’s hockey team:
Goalkeeper: PR Sreejesh, Krishna Bahadur Pathak
Protector: Varun Kumar, Surendra Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Vice Captain), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh
Midfielder: Manpreet Singh (Captain), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Neelkant Sharma
ahead: Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek.
India Men’s Hockey Schedule:
July 31: India v Ghana
August 1: India v England
August 3: India vs Canada
August 4: India v Wales
Unlike the men’s team, the women will be under pressure for the 2022 Commonwealth Games after a tremendous performance in the FIH Hockey Women’s. World Cup Spain and Netherlands 2022.
However, the women’s team had a memorable performance at the Tokyo Olympics where they finished fourth. While they finished third in the first Pro League season this year.
The Indian women’s team has a good track record in the Commonwealth Games with a gold medal in 2002, while they settled for silver in the following edition in 2006. In the 2018 Gold Coast Games, India’s women’s team finished fourth and failed to achieve. medal after losing the bronze-medal clash.
The Indian team, captained by Savita, will start their campaign against Ghana on 29 July, Wales on 30 July, England on 2 August and Canada in the preliminary round on 3 August.
India Women’s Hockey Team:
Goalkeeper: Savita (Captain), Rajni Etimarpu
Protector: Deep Grace Ekka (Vice-Captain), Gurjit Kaur, Nikki Pradhan, Udit
Midfielder: Nisha, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monica, Neha, Jyoti, Navjot Kaur, Salima Tete
ahead: Vandana Kataria, Lalremsiami, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi, Sangeeta Kumar
India Women’s Hockey Schedule:
29 July: India v Ghana
30 July: India v Wales
August 2: India vs England
August 3: India vs Canada
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