Manpreet Singh will lead Indian team for the forthcoming week-end Pro-league double header against World No.2 Belgium at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar. The 24-member team includes veteran striker SV Sunil, Rupiner Pal Singh and goalie PR Sreejesh among other established core of Indian national team.
A heightened expectation welcomes the second phase of Pro-League that India hosts. Midway through last month, on the same venue, India stunned The Netherlands with a win and a draw in the Pro-League opener. The heartwarming results brought Indian hockey back into the realm of positivism. A good show against higher ranked Belgium, Silver Medalist at Rio Olympics, will boost Indian team’s morale which often miss out in the big ticket events like World Cup or Olympics, despite massive support system that has been generated over the year with the financial muscle that the Indian hockey set up enjoys.
24-MEMBER INDIAN TEAM FOR TAKING ON BELGIUM IN PRO-LEAGUE:
1.PR Sreejesh, 2.Krishan Bahadur Pathak,3.Harmanpreet Singh (Vice Captain), 4.Gurinder Singh, 5.Amit Rohidas, 6. Surender Kumar, 7.Jarmanpreet Singh, 8.Rupinder Pal Singh, 9.Manpreet Singh Captain), 10. Vivek Sagar Prasad, 11.Chinglensana Singh,12. Raj Kumar Pal, 13.Dilpreet Singh, 14. Hardik Singh, 15.Ramandeep Singh, 16.Lalit Upadhyay, 17.Mandeep Singh, 18.Shamsher Singh, 19.Gursahibjit Singh, 20.Kothajit Singh Kadangbam, 21. Birendra Lakra, 22.Nilakanta Sharma, 23.Gurjant Singh, 24. SV Sunil.