Hockey India shortlist 39 players for the European leg of Hockey Pro League, camp to start on Saturday in Bengaluru

Seasoned goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is among 39 core group of players shortlisted by Hockey India for the national men’s coaching camp starting on Saturday (April 1). The three-week long camp will be conducted at the Sports Authority of India campus in Bengaluru. Sreejesh played a pivotal role in India's win during the Odisha leg of the Hockey Pro League competition.

The national camp in preparation for the European leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League matches will be conducted by interim coach David John. He will be assisted by BJ Kariappa and Shivendra Singh. All three were members of the coaching staff at the Odisha leg of the FIH Hockey Pro League competition held earlier this month in Rourkela.

The national men’s hockey team gave a good account of themselves in Rourkela to top the Hockey Pro League table. The Indian team won matches against reigning World Champions Germany and Australia to collect as many as 19 points from the eight matches they have played so far this season.

While Indian skipper Harmanpreet Singh, who struggled with his form during the 2023 World Cup in January, emerged as the top scorer in the league with 11 goals.

Spain with 17 points from eight matches in the league, are lying in second place, while Argentina are placed third with 13 points from 12 matches. The national camp will conclude on May 21. During the European leg of the Hockey Pro League matches, India will play against Belgium, Great Britain, Netherlands, and Argentina.

The core group shortlisted for the national coaching camp includes Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Suraj Karkera, Pawan Malik, Prashant Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh, Jugraj Singh, and Rajdeep Singh.

Former captain and midfielder Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Moirangthem Rabichandra Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Maninder Singh, S. Karthi, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Manjeet, and Pawan Rajbhar have also been named in the core group.