Hockey India has decided to send their second-string teams for the men’s and women’s competitions at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

A top Hockey India official has confirmed to PTI that India would be sending their reserve teams for the men’s and women’s competitions at the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The decision was made due to the short turnaround time between the Commonwealth Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

"We have three teams - India senior, India A and Junior team - and we would be sending our 'A' teams for the Commonwealth Games this year because we don't want our main players to hit the peak just before the Asian Games, which is more important," the Hockey India official told PTI.

"We will send those reserve players who will not be a part of the Asian Games squad because there is only a 32-day gap in between the two Games, and we don't want our hockey teams to peak at the Commonwealth Games.

"We want our main players to be fully fit for the Asian Games because it is an Olympic qualifier."

Birmingham 2022 is scheduled to take place from July 28 to August 8 while the Asian Games will start a month later from September 10 to 25.

Last year, India had pulled out of both the hockey competitions at Birmingham 2022 citing COVID-19 concerns

However, after negotiations between Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Narinder Batra, the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the head of the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the decision was reversed.

The Indian women’s team missed out on a bronze medal after going down 3-4 in a thriller against Britain ©Getty Images
The Indian women’s team missed out on a bronze medal after going down 3-4 in a thriller against Britain ©Getty Images

India’s Sports Minister Anurag Thakur was also involved in the discussions.

Despite not sending the main teams for the Commonwealth Games, Hockey India is confident of a good show in Birmingham.

"We have enough bench strength, so sending a strong team is not an issue.

"But we will not risk our main team players because Asian Games is of greater significance for us.

In fact, the 2022 CWG will give our 'A' team players valuable international match exposure," the official said.

The official also said that there is a possibility for the first-team goalkeepers of both the teams to travel to Birmingham to get some game-time ahead of Hangzhou 2022.

The Indian men’s team won a bronze medal at Tokyo 2020 - its first Olympic medal since the gold in Moscow 1980.

Meanwhile, the women’s team missed out on a bronze after going down 3-4 in a thriller against Britain.

In the Commonwealth Games, the men’s team finished as runners up in 2010 and 2014 while the women’s tea, won the gold in 2002 and silver in 2006.