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In October 2022, Harmanpreet Singh was named captain of the Indian men’s hockey team before the start of the 2022-23 Pro League season. Officially, it wasn’t admitted that the baton of leadership has passed over from Manpreet Singh who, in 2021, had led India to a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. However, as time progressed, it became crystal clear that the team had indeed moved on and Harmanpreet had been handed over the reins.
Manning the Indian defensive wall for over eight years now, the 27-year-old is fully aware of his role as a player and captain. And being one of the senior figures, the ace drag-flicker knows he’s not just responsible for his own game but also must provide rock-solid support for his teammates – on and off the field.
Before leaving for Hangzhou (China) where Harmanpreet is hoping to lead India to an Asiad gold and thus secure qualification for the Paris Olympics next year, Harmanpreet spoke to News18 on a range of topics.
Excerpts
How has your role changed since taking over the captaincy?
There hasn’t been a major change as such. Being a junior you have already learned what you have to do, you know the roles and responsibilities on the field. I think, on the field, since I play as a free man, my responsibility is to provide clear communication to other players. Be it practice or on the field (during matches), there will be times when a player is going to have an off day so during that time, you have to support each other. Then again, it’s not as if one player has to take the entire responsibility. Every member supports and cheers someone who isn’t able to do well on a particular day. The message is, ‘It’s OK, what has happened, forget it. Focus on the next task at hand and give your best.
Off the field, I keep talking to others – be it during breakfast or lunch or even in the room. Everyone has to feel comfortable and we have to check if all their needs are being met. Some may not be able to speak to me directly, but I approach them directly or speak to the coach. These may be minor responsibilities but it’s going well.
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You know have three roles – captain, defender and drag-flicker. Plenty of responsibilities on your shoulders now. How are you juggling between these?
I was a defender and drag-flicker before too but captaincy is a new role. I think when on the field, the foremost thing on my mind is to remember my job as a defender and the areas where I have to help the team. During penalty corners, you have to focus on executing what has been done in practice. I aim to convert all my flicks into goals but somehow there are times when that’s not the case. We know these things happen in the life of a sportsman – not every day you will be at the top. So, it’s never been a pressure, I take it as a learning curve. All your life, we keep on learning. I try to keep improving every day and properly handle my responsibilities.
Asian Games is the next big challenge. How do you see India’s chances of winning gold?
It’s a big tournament. Our target is to win and ensure direct qualification for the Olympics. All teams are strong. In today’s time, everyone is a tough competitor. We are focusing on one match at a time. We have already analysed the teams (in our pool) and even there (in China) we will continue to do so. Our game plan will be set as per their structure. Aim to give our best.
During the Asian Champions Trophy, the then-Pakistan coach said India relies on counter-attacks and they don’t play structural hockey. When someone resorts to such statements and mind games, how do you react to that?
Of course, there are negatives and positives. What others say about our team is a reflection of their mindset. We know what to do, and what areas to work on and for many years the performance has been quite consistent. We are playing with a structure and the results are proof. Yeah, it’s not a big, deal. Suno subki but focus apne game par rakho (Hear them out but focus should be on your own game). Others can analyse you all they can but we know what we are good at, what needs improvement, what needs to be continued.
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Can you talk about the role of mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton?
Yeah, he has shared his experience with us. He was with the (Indian) cricket team before. We are talking about how to handle distractions. We know what will be the distractions in China and we have been speaking about how to deal with those. Our focus has to be on hockey and not on what goes around. For example, we have to face Pakistan (during Asiad), and everyone is eagerly awaiting that. We try to avoid social media during major tournaments and keep focus on hockey.
At Games Village, you have to keep track of a lot of things. Recovery will be key. So these are a few things he has shared with us. When he was with the cricket team, he repeated all this with them. Keep your focus till the last whistle. We have been doing team activities to improve bonding, communication is improving on and off the field. We are sharing thoughts during team meetings. So, it’s (atmosphere) been quite positive.
There was a lot of chatter recently about how players should avoid getting friendly with opponents before and during a contest. Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir said when representing the national team, friendship should be left outside the boundary. Do you agree with that mindset?
I think every team follows that. On the field, there’s no friend or brother. We are representing the team, India comes first. So definitely, we are fully focused during a game. Off the field, you socialise but on the field, you have to prioritise responsibilities (towards the team).
See, there are times let’s when during a time-out a player is standing close to you and tries to speak to you it’s not sending a wrong message. How mentally you are strong is more important. Whether you are speaking or not, you should know what the target is.
Craig Fulton has a different philosophy than Graham Reid. How has been your impression of him so far?
We have been talking about this from the start: Defend to win. Of course, an attacking mindset will give you goals but when you are defensively weak, then what’s the point of scoring? The coach has a similar mentality – defend to win. First, you have to be defensively strong. The moment you get the ball, then attack.
So, the coach has been telling us about a few structures and we are following that. We have applied that in one or two tournaments. The performances have been good. He keeps us telling various things – responsibilities of different positions, how can improve their understanding among themselves. Same with the midfield and defenders – the roles with and without the ball. How to communicate well and guide (teammates) better. He’s quite clear in his messages.
There were reports of the FIH trialling a new penalty corner rule. The plan was abandoned though. Did you like the changes that were proposed?
(Our) The coach also has similar thoughts- the current penalty corner rule is safer. If we can improve the protective equipment that will be better. (Proposed) the rule is totally dangerous though.
When you start from the outer line and enter D, you are allowed to shoot anywhere, height doesn’t matter either but in flicking it’s not the same. If a dangerous ball results in a foul, you get an advantage. So the new rule would be dangerous and would increase the chances of players getting injured. First rushers have protective equipment and the postman (goalkeeper) is fully protected but for others it’s risky.
When on break from playing hockey/training, how do you relax?
Whenever there’s a break, I want to spend time with family. If the break is longer, I spend a week with family, and friends and go for outings. We are all professionals and during longer breaks, we ask our trainers to send a schedule to follow so that we don’t have to restart from where we were before. Fitness level has to be maintained especially the food we eat. All these things have to be taken care of.
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