India will face Germany in a two-match bilateral hockey series at home starting from October 23. The Paris Olympics bronze-medallists India will be up against world champions and Paris silver winners Germany at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in Delhi.
International hockey returns to the national capital for the first time after a decade. India will bank on the home support against a tough opponent Germany, who had defeated the Men in Blue in the Paris Olympics semifinals. The Indians gave a tough fight to the world champions but went down 3-2 in the end. The World No.2 side lost the final to the Netherlands in the French capital.
India, who are ranked No.5 in the world, have named a full-strength 22-member squad for the series. Ace defender and champion drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh will be leading the team with midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad as his deputy. Hardik Singh, who was named Hockey India’s Men’s Player of the Year for 2023, missed out due to an injury.
“The team we have picked is an experienced one, with several players from the bronze medal-winning Paris Olympics squad,” India coach Craig Fulton said during the team announcement.
“We will also have Rajinder Singh and Aditya Arjun Lalage make their international debut during this series, they have shown a lot of promise during the training camp,” he added.
What is the schedule and timings?
The two matches will be played on consecutive days October 23 and October 24. Both the matches will begin at 3 PM IST.
India’s hockey squad
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Suraj Karkera
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Varun Kumar, Sanjay, Sumit, Nilam Sanjeep Xess
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad (vice-captain), Vishnu Kant Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Rajinder Singh
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Aditya Arjun Lalage, Dilpreet Singh, Shilananda Lakra
How to watch the bilateral series?
The bilateral series will be available on both television and digital platforms. Fans can catch their favourite players in action on television on DD Sports. Notably, the live streaming of the two-match series will be available on FanCode.