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If you talk of the Indian junior men’s hockey team, it is almost impossible to have a discussion without a mention of drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh – the 19-year-old fullback has been the talk of the town with his scorching drag-flicks that have helped India win the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup as well as the 2015 Junior Asia Cup.
The son of a farmer, Harmanpreet is being seen as an exciting prospect to serve the Indian senior team. The youngster, who hails from Jandiala Guru in Punjab’s Amritsar district, spoke about his game and much more in an exclusive interview.
Excerpts:
Q You struck fifteen goals in the 9th Junior Asia Cup in Kuantan, Malaysia, including four in the final against Pakistan, helping India in a big way win the crown after a bronze-medal finish at the 2012 edition.
It is always satisfying to contribute to a team’s win and the 9th Junior Asia Cup was precisely that. I slammed four goals, including a hat-trick in the final against Pakistan, which was extra special as it helped my team win the tournament.
Q You really shot into prominence during the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor Bahru, where you struck a brace to help India win the title, beating Great Britain 2-1 in the final – you scored nine goals in that tourney – and again you showed your class by being the top scorer with four goals at the 2015 Sultan of Johor Cup, where India narrowly lost to Great Britain in the shootout.
I will always have fond memories of both these tournaments – the only difference is – in 2014 we won the title while in 2015 we lost in a close shootout to finish runners-up.
Q You started off as a forward but shifted to being a fullback.
I used to play as a forward when I was training at the Punjab Agricultural Academy (PAU) academy in Ludhiana from 2008 to 2011, before I moved to Jalandhar-based Surjit Hockey Academy. It was at the Surjit Hockey Academy that my coach asked me to focus on being a fullback, and there has been no looking back after that. I got a lot of help and encouragement from my academy seniors, which really helped me in developing into a drag-flicker.
Q Who is your favourite drag-flicker?
Rupinder Pal Singh – he is our drag-flick mainstay and I really like the way he takes his drag-flicks.
Q Ever since drag-flicks were first introduced in international hockey in 1996, we have seen how players of different teams have their own ways of executing it. What’s your take?
Look, every player has his own style of executing it. Some may want to look for the right or left corner while some target low flat flicks. I’m comfortable executing all of them.
Q There used to be a time when Indian hockey faced a dearth of quality drag-flickers – but now we have the likes Rupinder, Raghunath, Gurjinder and you. Must be a good augury for the future?
Healthy competition is always good and when you have more than one quality drag-flicker it is advantageous for the team.
Q You have achieved so much at the junior level – do you think you are ready to serve the senior team?
Right now, I’m focused on the 2016 Junior World Cup and I’m working hard towards that. I’m not thinking of when I will make my senior international debut. Of course, if an opportunity comes along to join the senior team, I will try to grab it with both hands.
Q The Indian junior men’s hockey team have done so well under head coach Harendra Singh . Your thoughts.
Harendra Sir is an outstanding coach. He takes care of every small detail of every player and always tell us to have a smile on our faces irrespective of the result. His mantra is simple – give your best and enjoy yourself and don’t keep thinking about the outcome as it is not in our hands.
