The Indian men’s hockey team left for Hangzhou from Bengaluru Airport on Tuesday to participate in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. The Indian team will begin their campaign against Uzbekistan on September 24. India have been placed in Pool A along with Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, Singapore and Uzbekistan. Pool B consists of Korea, Malaysia, China, Oman, Thailand and Indonesia.
The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals. Charismatic defender Harmanpreet Singh will once again lead the team, while Hardik will be his deputy. Harmanpreet said, “The team is preparing hard for the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022. We performed well in the recently concluded Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023, so the aim is to maintain that level of performance. We have some tough opponents in our pool, but we are confident in our preparation and hope to finish on the podium.
The squad consists of goalkeepers PR Sreejesh and Krishna Pathak, while the defenders will be in the hands of Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Sanjay. The midfield will be led by Neelkanth Sharma, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sumit and Shamsher Singh, while the attack will be led by Abhishek, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjit Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.
Before leaving for Hangzhou, vice-captain Hardik Singh said, “We have had some tough practice sessions in the lead-up to the tournament and everyone in the camp is working towards a single target. We are in the best mental and physical condition to travel to Hangzhou, and we are looking forward to a tough competition in our group.
India will face Uzbekistan on September 24 while they will face Singapore, Japan and Pakistan on September 26, 28 and 30 respectively. The team will play its last group stage match against Bangladesh on October 2.
Indian Men’s Hockey Team Schedule:
India vs Uzbekistan on 24th September 2023, 08:45 IST
India vs Singapore on 26th September 2023, 06:30 IST
On September 28, 2023, India vs Japan, 18:15 IST
India vs Pakistan 30 September 2023, 18:15 IST
India vs Bangladesh 2nd October 2023, 13:15 IST
The matches will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network.