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Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh will reach a personal milestone when the team takes on Ghana in their first Commonwealth Games 2022 (CWG 2022) match on July 31.
The Indian skipper will be playing his 300th game for India. In a virtual interaction from Birmingham, Manpreet stressed the focus will be on India's performance rather than his personal milestone. He said:
"I am really glad to have played 299 games for India. I’m excited about it but my focus at the moment is on the game against Ghana and the team and I'm not too concerned about the personal milestone.”
The 2020 Olympic bronze medalists have been drawn alongside England, Canada, Ghana and Wales in Pool B. They will play their opener against Ghana on July 31.
"The journey has been special" - Manpreet Singh on his run with the Indian team
Speaking about his journey with the Indian team, Manpreet stated that the sport had taught him many valuable lessons. He said:
"The journey has been special. It has also been a sheer honor to play for India for so long. The game has taught me so many things about life. I made my debut in 2011 when India won the Asian Champions Trophy.
"However, the very next year, the London Olympics was disastrous as we could not win a single game. We improved a lot in the next few years by winning big events. So it has been a roller-coaster ride for me."
The Manpreet Singh-led side wrapped up a month-long training session at the national camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Center in Bengaluru before taking off for Birmingham.
The Indian men's hockey team bagged two silver medals at the 2010 and 2014 CWG, respectively. They finished fourth in the 2018 edition of the Games.
The in-form Indian men's hockey team, led by the able Manpreet Singh, will enter the quadrennial showpiece event, aiming to end the six-time champions Australia's dominance.
