'The decision to hospitalise them was taken so as to ensure that the players were attended to at all times and could be given the best possible treatment. All six athletes are in good health and recovering well.'
Australia has by far been the most dominant team in CWG, winning all six golds till date.
Hockey legend Ashok Kumar reckons India would have won a medal had the Olympics been held this year but the break in momentum will make a big difference now that the Games are pushed to 2021.
Neeraj Chopra will be awarded Rs 1 crore cash grant while his coach Klaus Bartonietz and Physiotherapist Ishaan Marwaha will be awarded Rs 10 lakh each.
Captain Harmanpret said it's a good opportunity for the Indian players to win the World Cup at home.
Under Manpreet's captaincy, the Indian team has achieved important milestones,
The squad includes goalkeepers PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak, and defenders Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, and Gurinder Singh.
Manpreet was one of the six hockey players to test positive for COVID-19 at the team's training base in Bengaluru last month after they arrived for the national camp.
However, with the Asian Games now postponed to next year owing to the COVID-19 situation in China, HI decided to pick a strong team for the prestigious event, scheduled to begin from July 28.
SAI said the decision was taken to ensure that athletes bound for Tokyo Games, postponed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have continuity in their training.
The 20-member squad also includes goal-keepers PR Sreejesh and Krishan Bahadur Pathak; defenders Harmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Jarmanpreet Singh and Jugraj.
Olympic medal-winning defender Amit Rohidas will continue to lead the Indian men's hockey team in the crucial last leg of the 2021-22 edition of the FIH Pro League
'I feel so fortunate to be part of this incredible group and yes, I do believe I have been lucky to have had such a great start to my international career.'
The Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh and the four other players who have tested positive for COVID-19 were showing only "mild symptoms" and they were doing well, the doctors from Sports Authority of India said on Saturday.
The development came to light after HI advertised for the position on its official website Wednesday
Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey said India can win a World Cup medal this time after a hiatus of 48 years but for that the home side needs to make use of penalty corners.
Olympic bronze medallist India began their FIH Pro League Hockey campaign with a bang as they thrashed France 5-0 in a thoroughly dominant display in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Tuesday.
India were 3-0 up in the 42nd minute before Paul-Philipp Kaufmann and Michel Struthoff struck for Germany in the 44th and 57th minutes respectively.
Captain Harmanpreet Singh (7th and 19th minute; both PCs), Karthi Selvam (17th and 38th), Raj Kumar Pal (31st), Sukhjeet Singh (50th) and Jugraj Singh (53rd) scored for India.
The team has only one goalkeeper in Sreejesh, which means promising Krishan Bahadur Pathak missed out on an Olympic berth
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Captain Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh are among a few senior India players rested for next month's Olympic hockey test event in Tokyo. Besides Manpreet and Sreejesh, defender Surender Kumar was also rested.
India will next play mighty Australia on Sunday.
India had topped the five-team league standings with three wins and one draw
India women claim hockey CWG medal after 16 years
After a dismal eighth place finish in Rio Games, much is expected from the Manpreet-led side.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
Lack of training is an obvious concern but India's hockey players are also feeling homesick and they made that known to Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju in an online interaction on Thursday while pleading for limited resumption of practice. The Indian men's and women's hockey teams told the minister that resumption of on-field training in small groups as soon as possible will give them an an upper-hand over other top nations as they gear up for Olympics next year.
India's lone goal came from the sticks of Dilpreet Singh in the 34th minute.
The Indian men's hockey team's biggest gain this year was the emergence of some talented fresh faces.
The FIH Hockey Pro League matches between India and Great Britain, scheduled for May 8-9 in London, were on Wednesday postponed following the UK government's decision to add India to the travel 'red list'.
The men's team last participated in an international competition in February last year when they played the FIH Hockey Pro League matches against Australia in Bhubaneswar.
India played like champions and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Former India men's hockey head coach Roelant Oltmans blamed the lack of tactical awareness and a non-existent club culture for India's early exit from the 2023 Hockey World Cup.
With eight gold medals, Indian men's hockey team has been the most successful side in Olympic history but since the 1980 Moscow Games, the country has not had a podium finish.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Harmanpreet Singh won the men's Player of the Year award and Gurjit Kaur was recognised as the best player in the women's section. Veteran P R Sreejesh and Savita Punia won the best goalkeeper awards in the men's and women's section, while young striker Sharmila Devi (women) and Vivek Sagar Prasad (men) were adjudged best rising stars.
England shocked five-time reigning champions Australia 3-1, while Belgium defeated Pakistan 2-1 in their Pool A matches on the opening day of the Hero Champions Trophy hockey tournament.
The Indian men's hockey team will have to guard against complacency when it takes on lower-ranked Russia, while a tricky contest awaits their female counterparts against United States in the two-legged Olympic qualifiers.
With three wins and a draw, India are currently leading the six-team league table with 10 points and a goal difference of eight.
