The Indian squad, led by Harmanpreet Singh, will be the centre of attention as they attempt to win their second World Cup on home soil after winning the title in 1975. Spain, Wales, and England are included in Pool D together with India.
The 2018 Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 would be held in Bhubaneshwar and Rourkela starting on January 13, setting the scene in Odisha.
The Indian hockey team will be under pressure as they aim for their second World Cup victory at home after winning it for the first time in 1975. India will enter the event fresh off of a podium performance in the Olympics for the first time in 48 years.
India took home the bronze medal in Tokyo before taking home the silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham the previous year. The hosts are placed in the challenging Pool D with Spain, Wales, and England. They will start their campaign against Spain on the 13th of January.
The team announced by Hockey India for the competition is the ideal combination of youth and experience, with Harmanpreet Singh replacing Manpreet Singh as captain. Amit Rohidas will serve as his assistant and work with Harmanpreet to dragflick during the competition.
The full squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers
Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran
Defenders
Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh (Captain), Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas (Vice Captain), Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Midfielders
Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Akashdeep Singh
Forwards
Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh
Alternate Players
Rajkumar Pal, Jugraj Singh.
New role, same focus for Harmanpreet
Harmanpreet Singh will maintain the same focus throughout the competition. Be the stalwart of India’s defence and score from the Penalty Corners that will be awarded to him throughout the World Cup.
The new India captain finished as his team’s leading scorer in the Olympics in Tokyo with six goals. With nine goals to his credit, he finished joint second in scoring in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham while maintaining this form.
The 27-year-old tied for the most goals scored in the FIH Pro League in 2022–2023 with six. The new captain’s aims will include not just helping his country win the gold medal, but also maintaining a high standard for goal scoring.
In the wall, India trusts
PR Sreejesh is known as the Wall of Indian Hockey for a reason. The 34-year-old, who has single-handedly saved India in several games, was in sensational form in Tokyo as he fiercely and passionately defended the goal.
