Odisha’s Birendra Lakra Named Vice-Captain Of Indian Men’s Hockey Squad For Tokyo Olympics

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Birendra Lakra along with Harmanpreet Singh has been appointed as the vice-captain of the 16 member Indian Men’s Hockey team for Tokyo Olympics to start from next month. Midfielder Manpreet Singh will lead the squad at the olympics.

A vetran defender in the indian hockey team, Birendra had played in the London Olympics. He missed the 2016 Rio Olympics due to knee injury.

Stating this Olympics is special for him, he said,“This will be a very special Olympic Games as we have prepared really well and are poised to win a medal in Tokyo. Being named as a Vice-Captain along with Harmanpreet Singh is a matter of pride for me and over these past years with India we have seen players show great mental toughness during our preparations despite these trying times. We just hope to make the hard work and sacrifices count by winning big.”

Expressing his gratitude on being named Captain of the Olympic-bound Indian Men’s team, Manpreet said, “This Olympics will be truly special, and I am humbled to have this opportunity of representing India at the Olympics for the third time, this time as team Captain. It is a very proud moment for me to be given this charge. Over these past few years, we have developed a strong leadership group and have successfully overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic to not drop our form and keep our minds and fitness focused towards doing well at the Olympics.”