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Captaincy is never a comfort zone. Performing and getting the best out of the team-mates are hardly easy tasks, and when the tournament is as big as the FIH Hockey World League Semifinals, one can well imagine the onerous task Sardar Singh has when he leads the side in the marquee event.
The 28-year-old, who has played more than 200 internationals, is touted as one of the best centre-halfs in the world and it is this midfield where he would be looking to be dish out his best in Brasschaat – the venue of the HWL Semifinals.
The Indian skipper spoke on the Indian team’s preparations among others in an exclusive interview.
Q. How do you assess India’s chances at the upcoming second FIH Men’s Hockey World League semifinals?
We have trained hard for this marquee event and the onus is on us to deliver in the world league, which will be a huge opportunity to test our strengths against the top teams ahead of the Rio Olympics, which is just more than a year away.
Q. Do you think playing lesser teams like France and Poland first up in the World League will work to India’s advantage and set the team up nicely for the crunch games against Pakistan and Australia?
As I always keep saying, no team can be considered a pushover. At the ongoing first FIH Men’s Hockey World League semifinals in Buenos Aires, Canada beat Spain which just shows no team can be taken lightly. It does not matter whether it is Bangladesh or Canada, every team plays to win and we don’t want to take any team lightly. We will take one game at a time and see how it goes.
Q. India are known to have this knack of starting ‘slow’ at the start of the tournament. What’s your take on that?
I agree starting ‘slow’ has been a problem area, but we are working on it – our head coach Paul Van Ass has been offering his inputs on how to address this issue among many other aspects of the game. We hope to show more improvement in this area.
Q. India are going into the second FIH Men’s Hockey World League semifinals with only 1 drag-flicker – Rupinder Pal Singh. Do you think it is dicey to go with one drag-flicker in such a major event?
I don’t think having one drag-flicker is a concern for us as we have Jasjit Singh who can also chip in with the short corners. As for drag-flicks, we have only Rupinder, but we are looking to make the most of short corners not just through direct flicks.
Q. Penalty corner has been seen as a weakling for India – how about the variations?
We are working on penalty corner variations and our coaches have been guiding us. Finding different ways to score goals of penalty corners is what we are looking for as trying different things can keep the opposition defence guessing.
Q. India suffered three injuries in the run-up to the team’s departure for Belgium, especially experienced guys like VR Raghunath and SV Sunil.
I agree losing such experienced players can be a setback, but we have to live with the fact that injuries are going to happen in sport. We have a talented bunch of youngsters who can shoulder the responsibilities when needed.
Q. It is always said that India’s defence is weak – your thoughts?
I know people keep saying our defence is fragile. We have to understand that defence starts from the forwards and it is not fair to blame the fullbacks for any bloomer during a match. Like more than one player contribute towards scoring a goal, it is the team that contributes towards defending an opposition attack.
Q. There is never a full stop to learning – as someone who has played more than 200 internationals, what are things you are looking to add to your game?
I’m looking to read what the opposition is up to – when to slow down the pace of play and when to attack – stuff like when to tackle, etc. I always look to raise my performance bar.
