Hockey India today announced a 16-member National Men Team for the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020. Odisha defenders Birendra Lakra and Amit Rohidas have been included in the Indian team. As many as 10 players of the team would be making their debut in Olympic Games.

The team features six exepriened players in goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra and Surender Kumar. After missing the previous Olympics in 2016 due to a major knee injury, Birendra Lakra has made a comeback to the Olympic squad.

The debutants in the squad are: Amit Rohidas, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Shamsher Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

The team has only one goalkeeper in Sreejesh. The notable absentees in the squad are strikers Akashdeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh, both of whom were a part of the Rio Games team. Manpreet Singh is expected to continue as captain of the team.

The Indian Men team has had a rich history in the Olympics. The side has won a whopping 11 Olympic medals which includes 8 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. However, it has been 41 years since the Indian team last won an Olympic medal with a gold at the Moscow Games in 1980. The current team has won the 2016 and 2018 Asian Champions Trophy, 2017 Asia Cup gold and 2019 World Series as well over the last few years.

As a part of Olympics preparations, the men`s team travelled to Europe and Argentina as part of their preparations. Having put up a good show against teams like Germany, Great Britain and reigning Olympic Champions Argentina on the tours, the World No 4 side is pumped up for the Tokyo Olympics. The Indian team also got a chance to return to high-level competition like FIH Pro League, where they defeated Argentina in both the matches and set the tone for the Olympics.

The Indian Men team is grouped in Pool A along with reigning Olympic champions Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Spain and hosts Japan. The tournament would place from 23 July to 5 August, 2021 in Tokyo.

INDIAN MEN SQUAD: Goalkeeper: PR Sreejesh. Defenders: Haranpreet Singh (Vice-captain, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Birendra Lakra (Vice-captain), Amit Rohidas. Mid-fielders: Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit. Forwards: Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh.