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New Delhi, 20 September 2019: Hockey India on Friday named the 20-member Indian Men's Hockey team for their upcoming Tour of Belgium which is scheduled to take place from 26th September - 3th October 2019 in Antwerp, Belgium. The Indian team will be Captained by Manpreet Singh and Vice-Captained by Harmanpreet Singh, and will play three matches against Belgium and two matches against Spain.
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay will be making a comeback to the Indian Men's Hockey Team after the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup Bhubaneswar 2018, while Rupinder Pal Singh, who missed out on the Olympic Test Event, makes a return to the side for the tour of Belgium. Goalkeeper PR Sreejesh joins the side after being rested for the Olympic Test Event while Krishan B Pathak is the other goalkeeper in the team. Defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Khadangbam Kothajit Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh have been named in the squad and Midfielders include Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Nilakanta Sharma. India's forward-line features Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Ramandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh and Akashdeep Singh.
"All the players in the squad complement each other very well and we are hoping that the team continues its good form. We are delighted to have Lalit Kumar Upadhyay back in the squad as he will play a vital role in the forward line. It's fantastic to have Rupinder Pal Singh back in the side as well, he has improved his game since the FIH Men's Series Finals Bhubaneswar Odisha 2019. We are still looking to fine-tune a few aspects of our game before we leave for Belgium," expressed Chief Coach Graham Reid about the team selected for the event.
The Australian said that the tour of Belgium will be the perfect preparation for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers match against Russia in Odisha, "Belgium are a strong team and if we perform well against them at their own backyard then the team will gain a lot of confidence ahead of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers match against Russia. This tour of Belgium will serve as the perfect preparation before the all-important FIH Olympic Qualifiers. We are expecting a tough challenge from Spain as well."
Indian Team
Goalkeepers
1. PR Sreejesh
2. Krishan B Pathak
Defenders
3. Harmanpreet Singh (Vice-Captain)
4. Surender Kumar
5. Birendra Lakra
6. Varun Kumar
7. Amit Rohidas
8. Gurinder Singh
9. Khadangbam Kothajit Singh
10. Rupinder Pal Singh
Midfielders
11. Manpreet Singh (Captain)
12. Hardik Singh
13. Vivek Sagar Prasad
14. Nilakanta Sharma
Forwards
15. Mandeep Singh
16. SV Sunil
17. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay
18. Ramandeep Singh
19. Simranjeet Singh
20. Akashdeep Singh
