Family in spotlight at Hockey India's hockey gala

BENGALURU: When Sauran Katariya was asked to present the India jersey to her Asian Games-bound daughter Vandana, she did so with pride and shed tears of joy. This was truly a dream come true. “Her father (who passed away a few months before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021) would have been proud to see this day,” said Sauran, who flew to Bengaluru from Roshnabad in Haridwar for the event.
‘Sunehra Safar’ — road to Hangzhou Asian Games organized by Hockey India here on Thursday — was a rare occasion when players and their families came together ahead of a major competition. An Indian hockey player, on an average, spends 270 days of the year away from home — either in competition or training.
Goodbyes such as these are usually perfunctory, made through video calls. Understandably, emotions ran high on Thursday. “I couldn’t have asked for a better send-off,” said 23-year-old midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad.

Among those present were India’s seasoned goalkeeper PR Sreejesh’s children, Anusree and Sriansh, while the youngest in attendance was skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s two-and-half-monthold daughter Ruhanat. Speaking to TOI about the event, HI president Dilip Tirkey said, “Families play the most important role in a player’s career.
The sacrifices they make are unparalleled. There is nobody who is more special than a family member to hand them the jersey for the Asian Games.”
AKASHDEEP DROPPED
Seasoned striker Akashdeep Singh, who was India’s second highest goalscorer at last month’s Asian Champions Trophy, has been dropped from the Asian Games squad.
Also failing to make the cut were youngsters Jugraj Singh and Selvam Karthi.
This could well signal the end of the road for 28-year-old Akashdeep, who had failed to make the squad for the Tokyo Games as well.
Lalit Upadhyay returns to the squad along with drag-flicker Sanjay and midfielder Abhishek. Dilpreet Singh and Simranjeet Singh failed in their comeback bid again. Harmanpreet will lead the team with Hardik Singh as his deputy. Meanwhile, there were no surprises in the Janneke Schopman-coached women’s line-up.
The team, which travelled to Spain for the four-nation invitational tournament last month, has been retained.
TEAMS:
MEN:
PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Abhishek, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.
WOMEN:
Savita, Bichu Devi Kharibam, Deepika, Lalremsiami, Monika, Navneet Kaur, Neha, Nisha, Sonika, Udita, Ishika Chaudhary, Deep Grace Ekka, Vandana Katariya, Sangita Kumari, Vaishnavi Vittal Phalke, Nikki Pradhan, Sushila Chanu and Salima Tete