The Indian men’s hockey team will be keen to end their gold medal drought at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) when they compete in the 2022 edition of the tournament in Birmingham, starting 28 July.
India had finished at a disappointing fourth spot, losing 2-1 to England in the bronze medal play-off at the last edition of CWG (2018) in Gold Coast, Australia.
A silver medal in the 2010 and 2014 editions remain the side’s highest-ever achievement at the CWG, while Australia has been the most successful side in the tournament so far. ‘The Kookaburras’ have won all six gold medals since the sport’s inclusion in CWG 1998 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
India will kick off their CWG 2022 campaign against Ghana on 31 July. Besides Ghana, India have hosts England, Canada, and Wales against them in Pool B.
Ranked fifth by the International Hockey Federation (FIH), India is currently the top side in Pool B, followed closely by England at six, Canada at 12, and Ghana, way down the pecking order, at 36.
Strong Attack but an Unstable Defence
At the moment, the Indian team is undergoing training at SAI Bangalore under the watchful eyes of chief coach Graham Reid. The combination of coach Reid and skipper Manpreet Singh has seen the side grab success in recent times, with the bronze-medal performance at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics being the pinnacle of it.
The third-place finish at Tokyo, in fact, ended India’s 41-year long wait for a medal in the Olympics, a tournament in which the country has been one of the most successful sides, with eight gold medals to their name.
India had also put up a strong display in the recently concluded FIH Men's Hockey Pro League 2021/22, which ended last month. The ‘Men in Blue’ finished third with 30 points from 16 games, behind leaders Netherlands (42 points) and second-placed Belgium (35 points), out of a total nine teams in the table.
This was the side's best-ever finish in the tournament, having finished fourth in the last edition (2020), which was also their debut season. Defender Harmanpreet Singh emerged as the top goalscorer of the tournament with 18 goals under his belt.
The team’s attacking strength and form up front was evident throughout the tournament. They scored 62 goals and 27 penalty corner goals – the most by any side. With the CWG Games around the corner, this could prove to be a moral boost for Manpreet and his side as they enter the field.
However, India would be eager to plug their holes in the defence, having conceded as many as 40 goals – the fifth highest out of all the teams in the FIH Pro League tournament.
The team should be wary of their woes at the back and sort them before leaving for Birmingham if they wish to come out on top.
The fact that Australia is the only top-ranked side ahead of India in the tournament might make their job of reaching the finals easier, but in sports, nothing comes for granted.
Manpreet to Lead, Harmanpreet Deputy
Meanwhile, skipper Manpreet will be aided by drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh, whose excellent displays at the FIH Pro League earned him the vice captaincy role.
Apart from these two, the squad has veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh in their ranks. The experienced cutodian is India's No 1 keeper and has close to 260 caps to his name. Reserve goalkeeper for India during the Tokyo Olympics, Krishan B Pathak, is also part of the team.
The Indian backline will be guarded by defenders Harmanpreet, Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, and Jarmanpreet Singh.
Despite displaying unstability during the FIH Pro League, there is no dearth of experience at the back as Harmanpreet, Varun, Surender and Amit have all played over 100 matches for the country.
Captain Manpreet will be supported by Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, and Nilakanta Sharma in the midfield.
The Indian attack, on the other hand, include senior strikers Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Gurjant Singh alongside young forward Abhishek (14 caps).
The 23-year-old is relatively inexperienced when compared to the other three but has improved with time and shown promise.
Team
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak; Defenders: Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh; Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Nilakanta Sharma; Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek.
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