Rupinder Pal Singh named Indian men's hockey team captain for Asia Cup

Rupinder Pal Singh, who recently came out of retirement, will lead India at the Asia Cup as Hockey India on Monday announced a 20-member team for the upcoming tournament in Jakarta. The prestigious event, which will be held from May 23 to June 1, is a World Cup qualifier. Senior players like Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh will give the tournament a miss.

Birender Lakra has been named deputy to Rupinder for the event, where a second-string team represents India. Both Rupinder and Lakra had announced their retirement after the Tokyo Games last year but made themselves available for selection later on. It will be the first assignment for former captain and two-time Olympian Sardar Singh as India coach.

India have been grouped with Japan, Pakistan and hosts Indonesia in pool A, while Malaysia, Korea, Oman and Bangladesh comprise pool B. The team has as many as 10 players who make their senior debut, including junior World Cup players Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Manjeet, Vishnukant Singh and Uttam Singh. Also new in the team will be Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev and S Karthi.

The team features two goalkeepers in Pankaj Kumar Rajak and Suraj Karkera. Defenders include Rupinder, Yashdeep Siwach, Abhisek Lakra, Lakra, Manjeet, Dipsan Tirkey, Vishnukant Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Mareeswaren Sakthivel, Sheshe Gowda BM, Simranjeet Singh. Forwards Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, SV Sunil, Uttam Singh and S.Karthi have also been named in the squad.