Hockey India names David, BJ Kariappa, Shivendra as interim coaches

BENGALURU: Australian David John along with BJ Kariappa and Shivendra Singh will serve as the Indian men's hockey team's interim coaches after Graham Reid stepped down as the nation's head coach following the FIH hockey World Cup.

Physiologist David John served as the high-performance director for Hockey India. He is acknowledged as having a big impact on Indian teams' ability to acquire the required levels of fitness prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Shivendra Singh played as a forward for the Indian men's senior squad, and BJ Kariappa previously coached the junior Indian hockey team. India will be led 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 face the two opponents in two games each. A 20-person team for the same has also been named by Hockey India as per the Olympics website.

Harmanpreet Singh, the experienced campaigner, will be in charge of India. Amit Rohidas has been replaced as the team's vice-captain by Hardik Singh.

The veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh is also a member of the squad. Krishan Bahadur Pathak, the goalkeeper, is unavailable since his wedding dates conflict with the FIH Pro League games.

Harmanpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh will play defence for India, whereas Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, and Raj Kumar Pal will play midfield. The forwards consist of S Karthi, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, and Gurjant.