Hockey India today named 33 core probables each for India-A men and women teams for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham, England this year. The probables include eight men and eight women from Odisha. Double Olympian Birendra Lakra was named among Odisha core probables despite announcing his retirement recently.

Core probables from Odisha are: Birendra Lakra, Sahil Kumar Nayak, Abhisek Lakra, Nabin Kujur, Sushil Dhanwar, Gregory Xess, Sunit Lakra, Rahul Ekka (all men); Khusbu Kujur, Rinki Kujur, Premanjali Toppo, Ajmina Kujur, Mary Kandulana, Jiwan Kishori Toppo, Dipi Monika Toppo and Dipti Lakra (all women).

Former captain Sardar Singh and ex-striker Deepak Thakur were named as coaches of Indian men and women A teams respectively. 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 33 men core probables to be eligible for selection. The trio had retired from the game in quick succession just after the Tokyo Olympics last year.

The Indian men and women A teams will be taking part in the 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 preparation of the Indian contingent in eight high priority disciplines for the upcoming Commonwealth Games and Asian Games was discussed by the national sports federations and Sports Authority of India.

Both the Indian A teams will begin the national camp at the SAI Centre in Bengaluru from March 7.

CORE PROBABLES:

India-A Men: Prashant Kumar Chauhan, Pawan, Pankaj Kumar Rajak, Sahil Kumar Nayak (All goalkeepers); Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra, Manjeet, Yashdeep Siwach, Moirangthem Dinachandra Singh, Abhisek Lakra, Faraz Mohd, Akshay Avhad, Nabin Kujur, Abhishek Pratap Singh (All defenders); Mareeswaran Sakthivel, Sushil Dhanwar, Sheshe Gowda B M, Bharath K R, Gregory Xess, Darshan Vibhav Gawkar (All midfielders); Sandeep Singh (midfielder/forward); Ramandeep Singh, Maninder Singh, S Karthi, Prabhjot Singh, Pawan Rajbhar, Abharan Sudev, Pardeep Singh, Mohd Umar, Harsahib Singh, S V Sunil, Sunit Lakra, Rahul Ekka (All forwards).

India-A Women: Rashanpreet Kaur, F Ramenmawi, Sheweta (All goalkeepers); Simran Singh, Gagandeep Kaur, Marina Lalramnghaki, Priyanka, Reet, Reema Baxla, Mudita, Sumita (All defenders); Khusbu Kujur, Rinki Kujur, Premanjali Toppo (All defender/midfielders); Prabhleen Kaur, Ajmina Kujur, Sushma Kumari, Jyoti, Mary Kandulana, Amandeep Kaur, Kavita Bagdi, Kirandeep Kaur (All midfielders); Chetna, Yogita Bora, Jiwan Kishori Toppo, Lalrindiki, Sarabdeep Kaur, Raju Ranwa, Neeraj Rana, Kanchan Nidhi Kerketta, Anjali Gautam, Dipi Monika Toppo, Dipti Lakra (All forwards).
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PHOTO: Five of the eight Odisha women players pose in Bhubaneswar after being named as core probables of India-A team for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.