Hockey World Cup 2023: The responsibility of making India champion on these players, youth and experience is a mix

India is hosting the Hockey World Cup 2023. The Hockey World Cup will be played on January 13 in Odisha, India. The matches of the Hockey World Cup will be played at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar and the Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. It will run from January 13 to January 29. India has to play its first match against Spain on 13 January. The match will be played at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela. Team India has also been announced for the Hockey World Cup. Defender Harmanpreet Singh has been named captain of the 18-member squad for the Hockey World Cup. Whereas, defender Amit Rohidas will be the vice-captain of the team.

 

goalkeeper- Krishan B Pathak and P R Sreejesh

Defender: Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh and Neelam Sanjeep Says

Midfielder: Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh and Akashdeep Singh

Forward: Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Abhishek and Sukhjit Singh

Alternate Players: Rajkumar Pal and Jugraj Singh.

Young and experienced players have been selected in the team, who will be eyeing to end India’s long wait in the World Cup. Gurjant Singh and Dilpreet Singh, who were part of the Tokyo Olympic team, are not in the main squad but will remain as standbys. This is Sreejesh’s fourth World Cup and playing for the third time on his soil.

Krishan B Pathak- Pathak was born on 24 April 1997 in Kapurthala, Punjab. Pathak was not interested in sports, but on the insistence of his father, he joined the hockey academy at the age of 12. Pathak was part of the Indian junior team that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup in Lucknow. He made his debut for the senior India team in January 2018.

P R Sreejesh- Sreejesh, a former India captain, played for the junior national team in 2004. In 2006, he was included in the senior team. He is a senior player of the cricket team India. Come from Kerala. Awarded the Khel Ratna Award in the month of 2021.

Harmanpreet Singh- He was part of the hockey team that won the bronze medal for India at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Singh made his debut for India’s junior team against New Zealand. Harmanpreet Singh was included in the senior team in April 2015. He comes from Amritsar.

Amit Rohidas- Rohidas was born on 10 May 1993 in Saunmara village of Sundergarh district. He was selected in the national junior team in 2009. Rohidas was selected in the senior squad for the 2013 Asia Cup. He was part of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics.

Surender Kumar- He comes from Karnal, Haryana. He was part of the Indian hockey team that participated in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. Played for India’s senior team in 2013.

Varun Kumar- Hailing from Himachal Pradesh, Varun Kumar plays as a defender for Punjab Warriors in the Hockey India League and in the Indian national team.

Jarmanpreet Singh- Hailing from Punjab, Jarmanpreet Singh made his international debut at the 2018 Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy, where India won the silver medal. He has also played in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Neelam Sanjeep Says- He made his international debut for the national senior team at the 2016 South Asian Games. He captained India in the 2016 Under-18 Asia Cup.

 

Vivek Sagar Prasad- In January 2018, he became the second youngest player to debut for India at the age of 17 years, 10 months and 22 days. He was part of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. He comes from Madhya Pradesh.

Manpreet Singh- The Indian field hockey team won the bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics under the captaincy of Manpreet Singh. He first played for India in 2011 at the age of 19. He was inspired by former Indian hockey captain Padma Shri Pargat Singh. He comes from Punjab.

Hardik Singh- After becoming the vice-captain of the Indian junior team, he made his debut at the 2018 Asian Men’s Hockey Champions Trophy. He was part of India’s squad at the 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup. This one also comes from Punjab.

Neelakanta Sharma- He was part of the Indian team that won the 2016 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup. Hailing from Imphal East, Neelakanta started playing hockey in 2003.

Shamsher Singh- He made his international debut for the national senior team at the 2019 Men’s Ready Steady Tokyo Hockey Tournament. This one also comes from Punjab.

Akashdeep Singh- Singh was the captain of the youth India hockey sides and has represented the senior India team. He played Olympics 2016 in Rio. Singh has represented India at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. He was awarded the Player of the Tournament award at the 2018 Asian Champions Trophy.

Mandeep Singh- Hailing from Punjab, Singh made his debut for the India men’s national field hockey team on 18 February 2013 against Fiji during the second round of the 2012–14 Hockey World League.

 

Lalit Upadhyay- He was a member of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games. Lalit comes from Varanasi.