After announcing the 16 member Men’s Hockey Squad for the Tokyo Olympics, Hockey India have now announced that Manpreet Singh will lead the team to the Summer Games. The association has opted to put responsibilities on the experienced shoulders of Birendra Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh as they both were chosen as vice-captains and will be a part of the leadership group.
Manpreet is a very likeable character in the dressing and under his leadership for the last four years, the Men in Blue have won several accolades. Starting from winning the Asia Cup in 2017, Asian Champions Trophy in 2018 and FIH Series Final in 2019. Manpreet led the Indian side which reached the quarterfinals of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2018 in Bhubaneswar.
The performance of the Indian team has improved with every tournament and before the pandemic, they were exceptional in the FIH Hockey Pro League last year. Under Manpreet’s leadership, the Indian has reached the ranking of fourth in the World. Manpreet who will be featuring in his third Olympics has a lot of experience and is the ideal man to guide the youngsters who are making their debut.
Whereas defenders Birendra Lakra and Harmanpreet Singh have also been in great form recently and are looking forward to the big event. Lakra who featured in the London Olympics back in 2012 missed out on Rio in 2016 due to a knee injury. However, he has bounced back and has been a stalwart from the team in defence.
While Harmanpreet who debuted in 2015 has developed into a great drag flicker and solid defender.
Head coach Graham Reid congratulated the three main pillars of the team. He said, “All three players have been an integral part of the team’s leadership over these past couple of years and have shown a lot of maturity in guiding the youngsters during these challenging times. Naming two Vice Captains we believe will also strengthen our leadership in what is going to be a demanding tournament. We are confident that together they will guide the team to success.”
Manpreet was very thankful to continue as a leader of the Indian team as he expressed his gratitude. “This Tokyo Olympics will be truly special, and I am humbled to have this opportunity of representing India at the Olympics for the third time, this time as team Captain. It is a very proud moment for me to be given this charge. Over these past few years, we have developed a strong leadership group and have successfully overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic to not drop our form and keep our minds and fitness focused towards doing well at the Olympics.,” he signed off.
