Sultan Azlan Shah Cup: Bereaved Manpreet to rejoin squad ahead of Canada game

Ipoh: Bereaved Indian hockey midfielder Manpreet Singh will be rejoining the team for the Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia on Friday after fulfilling his responsibilities back home following the sudden death of his father. Manpreet was forced to return to India following the demise of his father hours before India’s opening match in the Azlan Shah Cup against Japan. [caption id=“attachment_2719862” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Manpreet Singh. Getty Images[/caption] Just after receiving the news, Manpreet immediately rushed back to be with his family. As a mark of respect towards Manpreet’s loss, India and their opponents of the first two games – Japan and Australia – sported black armbands and observed a minute’s silence prior to their matches. Manpreet will now be available for India’s next game against Canada on April 10. “I have done my duties here, and I am thankful to the team and everyone involved for supporting me in this time,” Manpreet said. “My teammates are like my brothers, and at this time, I want to go there and be with them and support them as they have supported me,” he added. India suffered a 1-5 mauling at the hands of world champions Australia in a preliminary league fixture. In their first match, Sardar Singh’s goal helped India survive a scare against Japan as they won 2-1. The Indian team will on Saturday resume training for Sunday’s game against Canada, who started the tournament with a 1-3 loss to Pakistan.