Ray of hope for hockey | India midfielder Hardik Singh
Midfielder Hardik Singh is upbeat about the prospects of the Indian hockey team at the upcoming World Cup and Asian Games
It’s been less than a decade since he made his debut with the senior team, but Hardik Singh has already won Hockey India’s Player of the Year thrice. Individual accolades, though, don’t occupy the 27-year-old who has become a pivotal member of the squad and is seen by many as its future captain. “When there’s good, healthy competition within the team, you improve personally,” he says.
It’s been less than a decade since he made his debut with the senior team, but Hardik Singh has already won Hockey India’s Player of the Year thrice. Individual accolades, though, don’t occupy the 27-year-old who has become a pivotal member of the squad and is seen by many as its future captain. “When there’s good, healthy competition within the team, you improve personally,” he says.
More prized for Singh are the team’s two Olympic bronze medals, the Asian Games gold and Asia Cup title. But Singh is in no mood to rest on his laurels. This year is pivotal, with a busy schedule that sees barely a breather between the World Cup and Asian Games. “We are only halfway there,” says Singh. “An athlete’s career is done only when you become a World Champion and win an Olympic gold.”
At stake is the quest to end India’s 50-year medal-less run at the World Cup and seal a qualification for the LA 2028 Olympics by an winning an Asian Games gold. “If I can give a reality check, there is going to be a burnout,” he says. “Everyone wants to be a world champion. For India, hockey is what football is to Brazil. Everyone is waiting for a win.” It’s a tall order to win back-to-back big titles, but Singh sees the challenge positively and understands it’s what the team will be appraised for.
It’s been a rough start for Team India, currently languishing eighth in the Pro League which included a solid humbling by Argentina at home. The team’s consistency and form have been called out. “It is an eye-opening moment for us that we cannot take anyone lightly and we aren’t either. Top eight teams are such that you never know who can beat whom” Singh says on the poor run. “I feel we should be tense when things are not fixable. It is on us and on the coaching staff to work on it. The outcome is not in our hands, all we can do is fall in love with the process.”
