Asian Games 2023: That's a reverse hit for Akashdeep!

Akashdeep Singh. Pic/Hockey India

Though Hockey India is yet to reveal the 18-member Indian hockey team for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, China (September 23 to October 9), the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Friday announced a detailed list of the 634 athletes for the quadrennial event, including names of the 18 men and women hockey players.

Abhishek, Lalit come in

While the women's team are more or less on expected lines, the men's team are missing at least a couple of prominent names. Forwards Akashdeep Singh, Karthi Selvam and drag flicker Jugraj Singh, who did well at the recent Asian Champions Trophy in Chennai, have been replaced by Abhishek, Sanjay and Lalit Upadhyay. Skilful forwards Dilpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh will also miss the flight to Hangzhou for reasons best known to coach Craig Fulton and the national selection committee.

While Selvam scored in India's 5-0 win over Malaysia in the league phase and Jugraj netted one in the 4-0 win over Pakistan, Akashdeep's contributions were more crucial. The experienced striker scored his first goal in the 7-2 win over China, his second against Pakistan and third in the 5-0 rout of Japan. His most striking effort though was his tournament-winning goal in the thrilling final against Malaysia. With India having rallied from 1-3 down to level the game at 3-3 and five minutes left on the clock, Akashdeep, drawing from his rich experience of international 235 caps, got into the perfect opposition inside the Malaysian striking circle and slammed home the winner. Akashdeep's CV shows he has been part of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games-winning team and the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medal-winning, the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games bronze medal-winning team. Even if we choose to ignore this given they are almost a decade old, he has continued his form in the recent past. He also scored four goals in the Test series against Australia, just before the 2023 World Cup in Odisha, and then added three more at the World Cup. In the Pro League, he played just three matches, scoring one goal.

Third place finish at Spain

Interestingly, in the recent Spanish Hockey Federation's 100th Anniversary celebration four-nation tournament in Barcelona, Akashdeep, 29, was not picked and India ended up without scoring a single field goal, finishing third. Incidentally, that third place was possible because of Dilpreet, who netted the match-winner against reigning FIH Pro League champions The Netherlands. In hockey terms, the stylish striker, who loves to execute the tomahawk or reverse hit, has been dealt one here.

Finally, Simranjeet's story continues to be a mystery. The man who scored two significant goals to help Indian hockey secure a historic Olympic medal for the first time in 41 years, beating the mighty Germany 2-1 in the bronze medal match in Tokyo, continues to be out of the team. He played a match during the Spain tour where he suffered an injury but has recovered fully and has been training at the camp at full pace too.

Ironically, the official word from Hockey India is that they will reveal both, the men's and women's teams, at Sunehra Safar, a grand official send-off ceremony scheduled on August 31 in Bangalore.

India's hockey squad for Asian Games
Men's: Abhishek, Gurjant Singh, Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sanjay, Shamsher Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sumit, Varun Kumar, PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Amit Rohidas, Nilakanta Sharma, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.

Women's: Deepika, Lalremsiami, Monika, Navneet Kaur, Neha, Nisha, Savita, Sonika, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Deep Grace Ikka, Vandana Katariya, Bichu Devi Kharibam, Sangita Kumari, Vaishnavi Vitthal Phalke, Nikki Pradhan, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam, Salima Tete.