David John, BJ Kariappa, Shivendra Singh appointed as interim coaches by Hockey India

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As Graham Reid resigned as the nation’s head coach during the FIH hockey World Cup, the Indian men’s hockey team will have interim coaches in the form of Australian David John, BJ Kariappa, and Shivendra Singh. David John, a physiologist, was Hockey India’s high-performance director. He is regarded to have a significant influence on Indian teams’ capacity to reach the necessary fitness levels in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. BJ Kariappa previously served as the head coach of the Indian junior hockey team, and Shivendra Singh played as a forward on the senior Indian men’s team.

India will be headed by the trio in their FIH Pro League 2022-23 matches against the world champions Germany and the No 4 team in the world, Australia, in Rourkela the following month. India will play each of the two opponents twice. According to the Olympics website, Hockey India has also named a 20-person team for the same event.

The veteran politician Harmanpreet Singh will be in charge of India. Hardik Singh has taken up Amit Rohidas’ position as the team’s vice-captain.

The team also includes the seasoned goalie PR Sreejesh. The goalie, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, is not available because his wedding falls during the FIH Pro League games.

India’s defence will be made up of Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh, while the midfield will be made up of Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, and Raj Kumar Pal. S Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, and Gurjant make up the forwards.

Before departing for Rourkela for the matches, the Indian squad for the FIH Hockey Pro League will continue to train in SAI, Bengaluru until March 6.

India will play Germany in the first game on March 10 and again against Germany on March 13. India will play Australia, the reigning Commonwealth Games champion, on March 12 and 15.