Former skipper Sardar Singh set to take charge of India 'A' Men's Hockey Team

Hockey India on Saturday announced a list of 33 players each for India 'A' Men's and Women's core probable group.

Former Indian Men's Hockey Team Captain Sardar Singh has been named as a Coach of the India 'A' Men's side, while former Indian Men's Hockey Team forward and two-time Olympian Deepak Thakur has been named as a Coach of the India 'A' Women's team.

Respective India 'A' Men's and Women's team will be in camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru from March 7.

The developmental step has been taken by Hockey India after a meeting Chaired by Sports Secretary Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi held on February 15, wherein the Indian contingent's preparation in eight high priority disciplines for the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2022 Asian Games was discussed by the National Sports Federation of India, Sports Authority of India and relevant sports federations.Following the announcement, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam in a statement said: "The selection of this group of 33 players each for the India 'A' Women's and Men's core group is a positive development aimed at widening the talent pool for selection of the respective Men's and Women's National teams."

"We are really happy to have stalwarts like Deepak Thakur and Sardar Singh join the national coaching programme. The wealth of experience, technical know-how and world class ability that they both will bring to the table will be extremely beneficial for this group of players, which will in turn strengthen Indian hockey manifold," he added.

Among the list of core probables named in the men's camp are the notable inclusions of Olympic medallists Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra, who along with veteran forward S V Sunil have made themselves available for selection again for the National team following their retirement earlier in 2021. Experienced forward Ramandeep Singh is also eligible for selection following his inclusion in the list of Core Probables.The list of 33 players named in the India 'A' Men's and Women's Core Probables is as follows: India 'A' Men's Core Probables: Prashant Kumar Chauhan - Goalkeeper, Pawan - Goalkeeper, Pankaj Kumar Rajak - Goalkeeper, Sahil Kumar Nayak - Goalkeeper, Rupinder Pal Singh - Defender, Birendra Lakra - Defender, Manjeet - Defender, Yashdeep Siwach - Defender, Moirangthem Dinachandra Singh - Defender, Abhisek Lakra - Defender, Faraz Mohd - Defender, Akshay Avhad - Defender, Nabin Kujur - Defender, Abhishek Pratap Singh - Defender, Mareeswaran Sakthivel - Midfielder, Sushil Dhanwar - Midfielder, Sheshe Gowda B M - Midfielder, Bharath K R - Midfielder, Gregory Xess - Midfielder, Darshan Vibhav Gawkar - Midfielder, Sandeep Singh - Midfielder/Forward, Ramandeep Singh - Forward, Maninder Singh - Forward, S. Karthi - Forward, Prabhjot Singh - Forward, Pawan Rajbhar - Forward, Abharan Sudev - Forward, Pardeep Singh - Forward, Mohd Umar - Forward, Harsahib Singh - Forward, S V Sunil - Forward, Sunit Lakra - Forward, and Rahul Ekka - Forward.

India 'A' Women's Core Probables: Rashanpreet Kaur - Goalkeeper, F Ramenmawi - Goalkeeper, Sheweta - Goalkeeper, Simran Singh - Defender, Gagandeep Kaur - Defender, Marina Lalramnghaki - Defender, Priyanka - Defender, Reet - Defender, Reema Baxla - Defender, Mudita - Defender, Sumita - Defender, Khusbu Kujur - Defender/Midfielder, Rinki Kujur - Defender/Midfielder, Premanjali Toppo - Defender/Midfielder, Prabhleen Kaur - Midfielder, Ajmina Kujur - Midfielder, Sushma Kumari - Midfielder, Jyoti - Midfielder, Mary Kandulana - Midfielder, Amandeep Kaur - Midfielder, Kavita Bagdi - Midfielder, Kirandeep Kaur - Midfielder, Chetna - Forward, Yogita Bora - Forward, Jiwan Kishori Toppo - Forward, Lalrindiki - Forward, Sarabdeep Kaur - Forward, Raju Ranwa - Forward, Neeraj Rana - Forward, Kanchan Nidhi Kerketta - Forward, Anjali Gautam - Forward, Monika Dipi Toppo - Forward and Dipti Lakra - Forward.

( With inputs from ANI )