Craig Fulton has announced the India squad for the Paris Olympics, that bids to improve on a bronze medal winning performance in Tokyo. The 16-member squad, along with three alternatives, has largely been picked on expected lines, however, there are still a few questions and talking points that need addressing.
Fulton drops Araijeet and picks Lalit
Ahead of the squad announcement, the big question was with regard to the forwards. Would Fulton prefer youngsters over seniors like Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay? The fact that he picked Lalit over Araijeet points to the fact that he prefers to have experienced players in front of the goal.
Akashdeep didn't make the cut but that was expected. Mandeep's form has not been great but India need his ability to create chances in the box. Gurjant Singh and especially Sukhjeet Singh have made massive improvements and deserved to be picked. So, in the end it came down to Lalit vs Araijeet. The latter has also been in decent form, scoring a couple of crucial goals in the away leg of the Pro League. Sure, there is a lack of experience with Araijeet but his ball-striking ability could've been one of the key factors in Paris. His combination play with Abhishek and Gurjant made India look threatening at the sharp end of the field.
Lalit has the experience and has played in big matches even though he hasn't had much of an impact in the recent games. Hopefully, Fulton will explain this call in detail sometime in near future.
No Jugraj Singh in main squad
Fulton has dropped Jugraj to the alternatives list, which means India will not be able to call on his dragflicks. He can come into the main squad in case there's any injury concern. Without Jugraj, Amit Rohidas will become the second option for dragflicks after captain Harmanpreet Singh.
Jugraj always had the power behind his dragflicks but his accuracy has not always been the best. Also, the reason behind his absence could be his defending, which has been a concern. The likes of Rohidas and Sumit have been much better over the years when compared to Jugraj. Sanjay also made improvements and his overlapping runs on the wings bodes well with Fulton's style of hockey. It's understandable why Jugraj didn't make it.
Last time in Tokyo, India made a big impact with the help of the two dragflick experts in Rupinder Pal Singh and Harmanpreet. This time, that will not be the case as Harmanpreet will have to be the main man when it comes to penalty corners.
Sreejesh over Krishan Pathak
A year or two ago, Pathak was pushing his senior partner with solid performances in the goal but when Sreejesh hits form, there's hardly any better goalkeeper in the world. The veteran goalkeeper has been India's best player in the last year or so. Be it defending set-pieces during the match or pulling off stunning saves during penalty shootouts, Sreejesh has done it all. India had three shootout wins in this Pro League season and that was mostly down to Sreejesh's heroics.
It's harsh on Pathak because he didn't do much wrong but the fact that India could pick only one goalkeeper means it is Sreejesh who's going to his fourth Olympics.
Vivek Sagar Prasad makes the cut
The midfielder had a great start to his international career but over the last year or two, his impact has waned. Maybe it's due to Fulton's style where the focus is on strengthening the defence and therefore Vivek doesn't get to play with the freedom that he would usually like. He also suffered a severe knee injury a couple of years ago, which also might be a factor behind his drop in speed and effectiveness. It did appear that his pressing and tracking back took a hit even after he regained full match fitness.
Fulton, however, has kept his faith on the midfield and dropped another India regular Nilakanta Sharma to the alternates list. It's not a big gamble per se but Vivek will need to step up and support the likes of Hardik Singh and Shamsher Singh both in terms of creation as well as tracking back and defending.
The Squad
Goalkeeper: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Sanjay.
Midfielders: Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad.
Forwards: Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh
Alternate Athletes: Nilakanta Sharma, Jugraj Singh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak.