Rupinder pal Singh proving his worth
With the likes of Sandeep Singh, VR Raghunath and Diwakar Ram to choose from, India’s option in the drag-flicking department has swelled further with the addition of Rupinder Pal Singh, who strengthened his reputation with a strong showing in the recent Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
With Sandeep and Raghunath not playing in the tournament, Rupinder got the chance he needed and he proved his worth in his first outing at the senior level scoring six goals.
“It is a great feeling when you emerge as the top-scorer there. And that too with someone like Sohail Abbas around,” said the player from Faridkot. “I am hoping to establish myself among the seniors.”
Being the cousin of former Indian captain Gagan Ajit Singh, hockey runs in the family. Rupinder, an employee of Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), was drawn to drag flicking, thanks to Sandeep and former player Jugraj Singh’s exploits.
“I want to contribute both as a drag flicker and a defender. That balance is quite important for a team to achieve success. You can’t be good at only one thing, you need to excel in both. For me, drag flicking is an art in which a combination of power and placement is needed. Defending is also a specialist role,” said Rupinder on the sidelines of the men’s national hockey camp here. On Thursday, the Indian team probables trained at the Madras Engineer Group synthetic turf in the city.
Rupinder has been flicking for four years and hopes to do his best. “I have to perform well during training sessions and in practice matches. The rest depends on the coach,” he signed off.
At a time when newly-appointed Indian men’s hockey coach Michael Jack Nobbs is looking for a solid core group with a good set of players and replacements, Rupinder is indeed giving out the right signals with his positive performance.