BENGALURU: Australian David John, along with B J Kariappa and Shivendra Singh, will serve as the Indian men’s hockey team’s interim coaches after Graham Reid stepped down as the nation’s head coach following the FIH Hockey World Cup.
Physiologist David John served as the high-performance director for Hockey India. He is acknowledged as having a big impact on the Indian team’s ability to acquire the required levels of fitness prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Shivendra Singh played as a forward for the Indian men’s senior squad, and B J Kariappa previously coached the junior Indian hockey team.
India will be led by the trio in their FIH Pro League 2022-23 matches against the world champions Germany and the No. 4 team in the world, Australia, in Rourkela next month. India will face the two opponents in two games each. A 20-person team for the same has also been named by Hockey India as per the Olympics website.
Harmanpreet Singh, the experienced campaigner, will be in charge of India. Amit Rohidas has been replaced as the team’s vice-captain by Hardik Singh. Veteran goalkeeper P R Sreejesh is also a member of the squad. Krishan Bahadur Pathak, the goalkeeper, is unavailable since his wedding dates conflict with the FIH Pro League games.
Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh will play defence for India, whereas Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad and Raj Kumar Pal will play midfield. The forwards consist of S Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, and Gurjant. The Indian team for the FIH Hockey Pro League will continue to practice at SAI, Bengaluru, until March 6 before travelling to Rourkela for the matches.
India will face Germany in the opening match on March 10, and play Germany further on March 13. Australia, the current Commonwealth Games champion, will play India on March 12 and 15. India is currently ranked second in the FIH Pro League 2022-23 points standings, trailing only Great Britain, which has nine points after four games. (ANI)