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

Sardar Singh and ex-striker Deepak Thakur were on Saturday respectively named as the coaches of Indian men's and women's 'A' hockey teams which will take part in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In a surprise development, Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist duo of Rupinder Pal Singh and Birender Lakra as well veteran forward SV Sunil also returned from retirement as they were named among the men's 33 crore probables to be eligible for selection for the Birmingham CWG team.

The trio had retired from the game in quick succession just after the Tokyo Olympics last year. The Indian men's and women's 'A' teams will be taking part in this year's Commonwealth Games after Hockey India decided against sending the main squads for the multi-sport event due to the short turnaround between the CWG and the Hangzhou Asian Games, which is a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The two events have just a gap of 32 days and the national federation wants to keep its players fresh for the Asian Games. The development came after a meeting chaired by Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi 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 federations and Sports Authority of India.

The national federation on Saturday also announced a list of 33 players each for the India 'A' men and women's core probables group. Both the teams will begin the national camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru from March 7.