Hockey India on Wednesday revealed the A19-member Indian men’s hockey team for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, which will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
The only other player from Odisha chosen for the team is star defender Amit Rohidas. For Amit, this will be his second Olympics.
“My family and I are overjoyed that I was chosen for the Indian team for the major event. I’ll be attending my second Olympics. Our crew is ready for the big event and we have done a great job of preparing. Our primary goal is to advance to the quarterfinals, Rohidas stated.
Strong midfielder Hardik Singh will be the team’s deputy to star drag-flicker and defender Harmanpreet Singh.
Veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and midfielder Manpreet Singh, who will be competing in their fourth Olympics, are also included in the squad. Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Rohidas, Sumit, and Sanjay make up the defence line.
Raj Kumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, and Vivek Sagar Prasad will all contribute to the midfield. Strong players like Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay are part of the forward line.
The other athletes named as alternates are defender Jugraj Singh, midfielder Nilakanta Sharma, and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak.
Five players—Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Raj Kumar Pal, Abhishek, and Sukhjeet Singh—are scheduled to compete in their first Olympics in Paris.
On July 27, the Indian team will play their opening game of the campaign against New Zealand. On July 29, they will play Argentina. After that, on July 30 and August 1, respectively, they will play Belgium and Ireland. On August 2, they will play Australia in their last group stage match.
