New Delhi
Hockey India on Tuesday announced the Senior Men core probable group who will play major international tournaments this year starting with the FIH Hockey Pro League starting next month. The 33 players were chosen following a three-week camp for 60 players who were called up to the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru, on the basis of their performances in various Hockey India annual tournaments. The core group features a mix of veterans like skipper Manpreet Singh, P R Sreejesh, who has been nominated for the World Games Athlete of the year 2021 award, Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Mandeep Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay among others who were part of the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal feat.
Moreover, youngsters Mandeep Mor, penalty corner specialist Jugraj Singh, strikers Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay and Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, who were part of the Men's Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar in December, have also been named. Besides, Simranjeet Singh and Gurinder Singh will remain in SAI, Bengaluru, to undergo rehabilitation. Speaking about the new core group, chief coach Graham Reid said: "We have used the last three weeks to have a look at the next layer of players in the country. We have chosen 33 which allows us to refresh and bring some new faces into the squad. This is an important year for us and this new squad will help us face these challenges head on. "One thing that was certain was all 60 players who had come into the national camp improved during the three weeks of camp making it extremely difficult to pick the final 33.
This shows how a centralised environment with good tempo of training and games can improve players," he added. Senior Men Core Group: Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Suraj Karkera Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Mandeep Mor, Sanjay, Jugraj Singh Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Jaskaran Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Ashis Kumar Topno Forwards: Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Akashdeep Singh, Gursahibjit Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Mohd Raheel Mouseen In Rehabilitation: Simranjeet Singh, Gurinder Singh