Sardar Singh named coach of India 'A' men's hockey team for CWG, Deepak Thakur to guide women's side

Hockey India today announced a list of 33 players each for the India 'A' Men's and Women's core probables 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. The respective India 'A' Men's and Women's team will be in camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru from 7 March, 2022.

The developmental step has been taken by Hockey India after a meeting Chaired by Sports Secretary Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi held on 15 February 2022, 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 Mr. Gyanendro Ningombam 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."

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

1. Prashant Kumar Chauhan – Goalkeeper

2. Pawan – Goalkeeper

3. Pankaj Kumar Rajak – Goalkeeper

4. Sahil Kumar Nayak – Goalkeeper

5. Rupinder Pal Singh – Defender

6. Birendra Lakra – Defender

7. Manjeet – Defender

8. Yashdeep Siwach – Defender

9. Moirangthem Dinachandra Singh – Defender

10. Abhisek Lakra – Defender

11. Faraz Mohd – Defender

12. Akshay Avhad – Defender

13. Nabin Kujur – Defender

14. Abhishek Pratap Singh – Defender

15. Mareeswaran Sakthivel – Midfielder

16. Sushil Dhanwar – Midfielder

17. Sheshe Gowda B M – Midfielder

18. Bharath K R – Midfielder

19. Gregory Xess – Midfielder

20. Darshan Vibhav Gawkar – Midfielder

21. Sandeep Singh – Midfielder/Forward

22. Ramandeep Singh – Forward

23. Maninder Singh – Forward

24. S. Karthi – Forward

25. Prabhjot Singh – Forward

26. Pawan Rajbhar – Forward

27. Abharan Sudev – Forward

28. Pardeep Singh – Forward

29. Mohd Umar – Forward

30. Harsahib Singh – Forward

31. S V Sunil – Forward

32. Sunit Lakra – Forward

33. Rahul Ekka – Forward

India 'A' Women's Core Probables

1. Rashanpreet Kaur – Goalkeeper

2. F Ramenmawi – Goalkeeper

3. Sheweta – Goalkeeper

4. Simran Singh – Defender

5. Gagandeep Kaur – Defender

6. Marina Lalramnghaki – Defender

7. Priyanka – Defender

8. Reet – Defender

9. Reema Baxla – Defender

10. Mudita – Defender

11. Sumita – Defender

12. Khusbu Kujur – Defender/Midfielder

13. Rinki Kujur – Defender/Midfielder

14. Premanjali Toppo – Defender/Midfielder

15. Prabhleen Kaur – Midfielder

16. Ajmina Kujur – Midfielder

17. Sushma Kumari – Midfielder

18. Jyoti – Midfielder

19. Mary Kandulana – Midfielder

20. Amandeep Kaur – Midfielder

21. Kavita Bagdi – Midfielder

22. Kirandeep Kaur – Midfielder

23. Chetna – Forward

24. Yogita Bora – Forward

25. Jiwan Kishori Toppo – Forward

26. Lalrindiki – Forward

27. Sarabdeep Kaur – Forward

28. Raju Ranwa – Forward

29. Neeraj Rana – Forward

30. Kanchan Nidhi Kerketta – Forward

31. Anjali Gautam – Forward

32. Monika Dipi Toppo – Forward

33. Dipti Lakra – Forward