Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, Hockey India have named both the men’s and women’s squads for the Games. While the men’s squad has 10 debutants, the women’s team has 8 Olympic debutants and both are 16-strong.
Continuing with their third stint, goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and midfielder Manpreet Singh will bring in "critical experience" to the team, alongside other Olympic veterans, such as Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar and Mandeep Singh, said Hockey India in a statement.
After missing the 2016 Rio Olympics due to a knee injury, defender Birendra Lakra is back in the squad for Tokyo 2020. Also joining the team are, Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit and debutant forwards, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.
Meanwhile, the women’s team is a mix of youth and experience as well with 8 players named who last featured in the 2016 Rio Olympics and the rest will make their Olympic debut when the quadrennial games begin on 23 July.
Coach Sjoerd Marijne has decided to continue with the experienced lot of Rani Rampal, Savita, Deep Grace Ekka, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Monika, Nikki Pradhan, Navjot Kaur and Vandana Katariya are part of experienced lot. The eight Olympic debutants include drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur, Udita, Nisha, Neha, Navneet Kaur, Sharmila Devi, Lalremsiami, is the first player hailing from Mizoram in the team, and Salima Tete.
This will be the Indian women’s hockey team’s third appearance at the Olympic Games and their second consecutive outing, with previous appearances coming in 1980 and 2016.
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