Hockey India congratulates Surender Kumar on completing 100 international caps

Hockey India has congratulated defender Surender Kumar for achieving the milestone of playing 100 international caps for the country.

The 24-year-old achieved the feat during their third match against Japan at the ongoing 5th edition of Men's Asian Champions Trophy Muscat.

General Secretary of Hockey India, Rajinder Singh, while congratulating Kumar, praised him for showing a consistent progress in his game.

"On behalf of Hockey India, I would like to congratulate Surender Kumar on completing 100 International Caps for the country. He is a young player who has developed well through the ranks and I am happy to see his progress as he is regularly involved with the senior team now," Singh said.

"Surender has proven to be an added resource to the Indian defence. I would like to wish him the best for the future, and hope to see him achieve wonderful things with the Indian team," he added.

Kumar, who had made his international debut in 2013, said that he is proud to have represented the nation for such a long time, adding that he wishes to continue doing so.

"I am very proud to have been able to represent the nation through the years, and it gives me immense joy and satisfaction to be getting the chance to play in my 100th International Match for India," Kumar said.

"I have always wanted to represent my country at the highest level, and to be able to do it a hundred times, it swells my heart with gratitude towards everyone who has been involved in my development which includes my teammates, coaches, team management, family, friends and Hockey India," he added.

Kumar hails from the state of Haryana and came through the ranks of the junior team set-up where he was first drafted in the year 2012. He made his debut in the junior team in the same year and was also a part of the team which finished 10th at the FIH Junior Men's World Cup in 2013.

His dynamic performances in the Hockey India League and in the domestic circuit saw him get selected regularly for the senior team in from the year 2016 onwards. He has also been a part of the teams which have participated at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Men's Asia Cup 2017, FIH Men's Hockey Champions Trophy 2018 and the 18th Asian Games.

India had produced a stunning 9-0 victory over Japan in their third round-robin match on Sunday. The team dominated proceedings from the start and scored goals in all the four quarters through Mandeep Singh (4', 49', 57'), Harmanpreet Singh (17', 21'), Gurjant Singh (8'), Akashdeep Singh (36'), Sumit (42') and Lalit Upadhyay (45') to register a convincing victory and remain at the top of the pool standings.

India are now slated to play their fourth round-robin match against Malaysia on October 23.