Birmingham, First Published Jul 30, 2022, 7:06 PM IST
Birmingham: Indian captain Manpreet Singh says that the first goal is to reach the final in Commonwealth Games hockey. Manpreet told Asianet News that Ghana, who are the first opponents, will not be considered weak. The India-Ghana match is tomorrow afternoon at 3.30 pm.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet Singh is excited to carry the Indian flag in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. The Indian skipper says that his first goal is to qualify for the finals as he won bronze in the last Games.
Manpreet disagrees with many saying that sending a top-tier team to the Commonwealth Games is an advantage since the Asian Games were postponed. Manpreet said that India’s first opponents, who are ranked fifth in the world, are Ghana, who are ranked 36th.
India’s first match in Pool B at the Commonwealth Games is against Ghana on Sunday. This is the first time since 1975 that India and Ghana will face each other in men’s hockey. The two teams had previously faced each other in the 1975 World Cup of Hockey. India won by 7-0 on that day.
Teams Canada, England and Wales are in Pool B with India. The team trained for a month at the Sai Center in Bengaluru in preparation for the Games. Graham Reid is the coach of India. India finished fourth in the last Commonwealth Games held at Gold Coast.
Indian Hockey Team for Commonwealth Games
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak.
Defenders: Varun Kumar, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (vice captain), Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh.
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (captain), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Nilakanta Sharma.
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek.
Last Updated Jul 30, 2022, 7:08 PM IST