Sardar axed, Rupinder back for HWL Final

New Delhi, November 17

Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh was today dropped from India’s 18-member squad for next month’s Hockey World League Final, while a fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks for the season-ending tournament to be held in Bhubaneswar.

Sardar’s was the biggest omission from the squad, and the exclusion might just mark the end of former skipper’s illustrious career.  He was  was part of the team that won the Asia Cup last month in Dhaka. In the Asia Cup, Sardar shunned his playmaker role in the midfield for skipper Manpreet Singh and played as a free defender. But the ouster from the HWL Final might mean that Sardar doesn’t quite fit into the scheme of things of new chief coach Sjoerd Marijne.

Rupinder will return to the team after a five month lay-off due to a hamstring injury while Lakra has been in and out of the side after missing the Rio Olympics due to a knee injury.

“I think this is a great mix and I would like to see how the youngsters soak up the pressure of playing against higher-ranked teams,” said Marijne. “We will have to play every match like it is the final and have absolutely no room for errors if we want to see ourselves on the podium.” 

India are grouped with Australia, England and Germany in Pool B and will begin their campaign against defending champions Australia. — PTI

Squad: Goalkeepers: Akash Anil Chikte, Suraj Karkera; Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Dipsan Tirkey, Varun Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Birendra Lakra; Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (Capt), Chinglensana Singh (vice-captain), SK Uthappa, Sumit, Kothajit Singh; Forwards: SV Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh.