The Indian men’s hockey team suffered a setback on Friday when skipper Rupinder Pal Singh was ruled out of the Men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament due to a wrist injury. According to Hockey India, top drag-flicker Rupinder suffered a wrist injury during a training session. Birender Lakra, who was named vice-captain, will now lead the Indian team while striker SV Sunil will be the vice-captain of the 20-man squad.
Rupinder, who is returning from retirement, will be replaced by Neelam Sanjim Jess. The Asia Cup will start from 23 May in Jakarta. India is the defending champion of the tournament. Coach BJ Cariappa said, “It is unfortunate that Rupinder suffered an injury during the training session and will not be a part of the Hero Asia Cup. Both Birender and Sunil have immense experience and have been part of the leadership group for many years.
He said, ‘We will miss Rupinder but we have a lot of options in the pool. We have a lot of talented players and they will also try to take advantage of this opportunity.