HI announces 33 probables for FIH Hockey World Cup

Drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and defender Gurbaj Singh were amongst  the 33 core probables announced by Hockey India (HI) on Tuesday for the FIH Hockey World Cup to be held in The Hague, Netherlands from 31st May.

The players will undergo a preparatory camp from March 9 at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi.

India are placed in Pool A of the FIH Hockey World Cup with Australia, England, Belgium, Spain and Malaysia.

India will open their campaign against Belgium on May 31 followed by matches against England (June 2), Spain (June 5), Malaysia (June 7) and Australia (June 9).

Probables list:

Goalkeepers - PR Sreejesh, Harjot Singh, Sushant Tirkey

Defenders - Gurbaj Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, V R Raghunath, Birendra Lakra, Gurmail Singh, Kothajit Singh, Khadangbam, Gurjinder Singh, Gurinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, Vikram Kanth. Midfielders - S K Uthappa, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Satbir Singh, Devinder Sunil Walmiki, Vikas Pillay, Jasjit Singh.

Forwards - Nikkin Thimmaiah, Nithin Thimmaiah, S V Sunil, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Affan Yousuf, Yuvraj Walmiki, Talwinder Singh, Lalit Upadhyay.

The Hockey World Cup

The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics.

There is also a Women's Hockey World Cup, which has been held since 1974 and was organised by the International Federation of Women's Hockey Associations (IFWHA) until 1981, when the governing bodies merged into the current International Hockey Federation in 1982.

Five countries have dominated the event's history. Pakistan is the most successful team, having won the tournament four times. The Netherlands have won three titles, and Germany and Australia have each won two titles. India won the tournament once. It was announced that the World Cup will expand to 16 teams for the 2018 editions, and that it will be evaluated the possibility of increasing it to 24 in 2022.

The 2010 Hockey World Cup was held in India from February 28 to March 13 at New Delhi's Dhyan Chand National Stadium. Australia defeated Germany 2–1 in the final, to win their second World Cup title. The 2014 tournament will be held in The Hague, Netherlands from June 2–14, 2014.

The 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup will be the 13th edition of the Hockey World Cup. It will be held from 31 May to 15 June 2014 at the Kyocera Stadion in The Hague, Netherlands. It will be held simultaneously with the women's tournament. It will be the third time that the Netherlands hosts the World Cup after 1973 and 1998.