s2h team
Former captain Manpreet Singh and ace striker Akashdeep Singh will be playing their record sixth Asian Champions Trophy next week in Chennai. The duo were part and parcel of Indian teams and had the honour of representing in the competition six times out of seven editions held so far.
Manpreet Singh just missed once in 2016 — which India won at Kuantan — whereas Akashdeep Singh the inaugural edition (2011), coming into the national scene much later.
Hockey India has announced the team today, even as Indian team is touring Europe. They lost to Spain today in the tournament organized to commemorate Spain’s 100th year in the international scene.
The ACT team: Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh & Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh (C)Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Midfielders: Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, S Karthi
The Hero Asian Champions Trophy Chennai 2023 will be held at the recently reburnished Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium in Chennai from 3rd August to 12th August. India will face South Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Japan, and China in the Pool. The event serves as a preparation event for the crucial September Hangzhou Asian Games 2023.
Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium, Chennai
Chennai hosted India-Belgium test series in 2008, which is the last international event held in the City and also in the same stadium. It also hosted Asia Cup a year earlier, which India won defeating South Korea 7-1.
ACT RECORD:
So far, 67 Indians have represented in the Asian Champions Trophy which was put on board in 2011 by the Asian Hockey Federation. Now, India is introducing five new faces for the tournament.
Goalie PR Sreejesh will be playing his 5th ACT while Mandeep Singh, Krishan Pathak, captain Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet, Hardik, and Sumit will be playing their 3rd.
Jugraj Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and S. Karti will be making their ACT debut.
Amit Rohidas will be playing only his second ACT. He has waited 10 years to make this happen, after figuring in the 2011 edition, and winning the gold. He was not in the reckoning for the national team for next 3,4 years.
Six players in the Chennai Squad — Mandeep Singh, Krishan Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Sumit — would have played the ACT thrice when the Chennai edition commences.
The Government of Tamil Nadu is sponsoring the tournament. It has left no stone unturned to host it in a big way. The Trophy, much like what we witnessed in the run up to the Bhubaneswar World Cup, is being taken to each district of the State after showcasing in al metros.