DNA: For 10 days, 25 of us were a family. We played like one as well: Harjeet Singh

By Rutvick Mehta

India’s World Cup-winning junior hockey captain Harjeet Singh talks to Rutvick Mehta about secret to his team’s incredible journey to title, his belief in this bunch repeating their heroics for seniors and why he made cups of tea for his teammates. Excerpts from a free-wheeling chat:

It’s been exactly a week since you led your team to the Junior World Cup title. Has it sunk in yet for you?
It has started to sink in for me that we’re world champions now. I have been looking back at the journey over the past few days, how we reached where we are and how we achieved what we did. Every time I think about it, I get a huge sense of pride, both as an individual and as a team. It was an incredible journey.

The picture of you sleeping with the trophy went viral in social media. You didn’t seem to want to part with it…
I slept with it every night till I had it with me. Imagine if there’s something for which you have been working hard day in and day out for the past two-and-a-half years, and you get that. What will you do? It’s exactly what I did: I didn’t let the trophy go away from me.

We saw all of you break into a dance on the field itself. How did you guys celebrate the victory?

We were invited to dinner by Sahara Shri (Subrata Roy). Everyone danced for most part of the night there. A lot of the players imitated the coaches, how they would give us instructions in camps over the past couple of years. It was a memorable night, something I will never forget.

How much has life changed for you after the victory?

There has been a huge change. We now have a fan-following of our own. From the time I left Lucknow and landed in Kolkata (to play in the Beighton Cup), people have started recognising me. A lot of people asked me at the airport: ‘Aap wohi ho na, junior hockey team ke captain? (You’re the junior team’s captain, right?)’

Just a few days ago, I went to a mall. I was having lunch with a group of friends at a table, and a girl walked up to me along with a few guys. They congratulated me and clicked some pictures with me. So, it really feels nice that hockey is being recognised like this, and not just the senior players. We are also famous now.

You used to make a cup of tea for every player during the national camps. As a leader, how important was it for you to develop off-field chemistry and a sense of togetherness within the team?

It was really important for me. My thinking was that if we do these little things together as a team, the atmosphere among us will always remain positive. It ensures that we always stand next to each other in tough times, help each other in tough times.

The reason I used to make tea was to get everyone together for that small period of time away from the hockey field. I used to always insist on having that cup of tea in my room, so that all of us could sit together in one room and chat. We spoke about each other, shared each other’s joy and sorrow off the field. So when all of us spoke, everyone realised how each other was as a person, how emotional he was, how passionate he was, how different he was from probably how he acted on the field. It was about little things like these, which played a major role in the overall success of this team.

So did you make tea for the players after the final?

Of course. I made tea for everyone the next morning (of the final). I think it was sweeter than before.

The general consensus among coach Harendra Singh, manager Roelant Oltmans and mentor PR Sreejesh was that this team’s biggest strength was its unity. What, according to you, was the biggest strength?

The biggest strength of this team was that it thought alike. All the players shared the same vision, all the players played for the country. None of the players wanted to play for themselves. Every player in this team wanted to achieve something, for hockey as well as the country. That’s why you could rarely see individual brilliance on the field, because no one played to prove themselves.

Another important reason for this team’s success was following the structure laid down by the coaches. Not once did we question it, deviate from it or break it. We played how we were asked to, and that was a key aspect.

You guys were labelled the favourites to lift the title, which can put enormous pressure especially on young shoulders. What did you tell the team before the tournament started?

I had told my players about the crowd, and how that was going to be a big factor, because most of us weren’t used to playing in front of a lot of spectators. It was upon us whether we took it positively or negatively. The second thing I told them was to focus only on our game. I knew that if we stuck to our game and our plans, it would be really difficult to beat us. I reminded everyone of the tournaments we had won over the past couple of years, be it the Asia Cup or the four-nation tournament in Valencia. I asked them to remember how we had played in those matches. I just reminded the players how good we were, and if we played the way we had been playing, no one could stop us.

You were also part of the junior team that finished a poor 10th in the previous World Cup in 2013. What was the difference between this side and the previous World Cup team?

This team was disciplined, and had a big sense of unity. Secondly, like I said, we had players who were willing to sacrifice things for their teammates. And we trusted our coaches wholeheartedly. But the biggest thing, and I will say this again, was our focus. We didn’t want to know what was happening outside during the tournament, even what was happening to our families. Kisi ne kisi ke baare mein nahi socha (nobody thought about anyone else outside). For those 10 days, the 25 of us were a family. And I think we played like one as well.

Talking of family, you started playing hockey without much family support and financial backing. Not until recently did your family accept your decision of taking up hockey as a profession. How difficult was that period for you?

(Pauses) Problems toh har kisi ki life mein hoti hai (everyone has problems in their life). But the test is how strong you can be mentally during those times. Ever since I picked up the hockey stick as a child, I was determined to play this game for the rest of my life. I didn’t care if people stopped me, judged me or mocked me. I knew this was my calling. And luckily, whatever was necessary, I would get it just in time: be it a hockey stick, a pair of shoes or some money. My seniors helped me a lot during such times. I was blessed in that regard.

Yet, many would’ve given up on their dream if they were in a similar position. But you stuck through it and fought the odds. Do you now feel that faith you had in yourself has paid off?

I remember the day I joined the Surjit Academy, my life was all about hockey. It was hockey, hockey, hockey all day. That’s how the lifestyle was there. So my dedication towards the sport grew so much there that from then on, I knew it was hockey or nothing for me. I had no option but to dream of playing the sport at the highest level. I thought the only thing that can give me any kind of happiness is hockey. So from that time onwards, I told myself, ‘kuch pana hai toh sirf hockey mein hi (If you want to earn something, it had to be in hockey)’.

And there is still a lot of time for you to earn more. Do you think that this victory will help in taking a lot self-belief into the senior team, both for you as well as your teammates who make the cut?

It will help in a massive way. The junior team is where a lot of hockey players’ careers start, and we’ve come up with such good performances in that, both as individually and as a group. So, I see a lot of players graduating into the senior team gradually over a period of time. I know for a fact that these bunch of boys have a lot of talent and a lot of passion for hockey in them.

But we’ve seen a lot of talented juniors fizzle out when they get into the senior team. Do you think players in this team have the capability to sustain their skills even when they get into the senior side?

Of course we have the capabilities. Two or three players are already part of the senior team. It is up to the selectors and the coaches to see and decide. But if you ask me, I think at least seven-eight players from this team will make the senior cut in the future.

To be really honest, I have a feeling that our current junior team will be back together one day, turning up for the senior team. And I have no doubt that we will achieve a lot more in the future even as seniors. The reason for my confidence is that a lot of the players in this junior team have come up after a lot of struggle and hardship. Most of us have come up from poverty. Un logo mein jyada junoon aur bhook hoti hai kuch kar dikhane ki (Such people have more passion and hunger to achieve something). I’m sure you will see a lot of us in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And so, I can promise you one thing, if this team plays together again in the future, we will win more medals for India.

Finally, what are your goals over the next few years?

My aim is to play for India at the 2018 senior World Cup and the 2020 Games. That’s my target, and it’s the target of all players in the team. We will continue to work hard for it. Yes, this World Cup has given us a huge boost of confidence, but we will not rest on our laurels.

Father goes to Kolkata to meet Harjeet

Six days after leading his side to the Junior World Cup title, Harjeet Singh finally met his father on Saturday. Despite achieving what no Indian junior hockey side had done in 15 years, Harjeet had no time to go home and celebrate. The captain, along with a few other of his teammates, flew straight to Kolkata to play for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in the Beighton Cup. His father Rampal Singh, a truck driver, was on the road during the World Cup, which meant he couldn’t watch his son lift the trophy last Sunday. The doting father thus made it a point to take a detour and go to Kolkata to see his son, and the two met on Saturday on the sidelines of the tournament. How’s this for a happy reunion?