s2h Team 

On the flight to Tokyo on Saturday night, Mandeep Singh was visibly tired. A member of the Indian team that left Bengaluru where it trained in the last month, he and his teammates endured a wait of almost half a day to board their connecting flight from New Delhi to Tokyo.

Despite the fatigue, Mandeep readily spoke with this site and appeared to hold mixed emotions. Although elated to play his first Olympics, he is a bit jittery because of the pressure that comes along.

“The Olympics is every player’s dream, so I will definitely give my best in our efforts to win a medal,” Mandeep told www.stick2hockey.com, in his usual quick and crisp response.

This may be his first Olympics, but he is being counted among the experienced players in the squad. The men’s hockey team in Tokyo has 10 Olympic debutants. Only four other players – PR Sreejesh, Birendra Lakra, Manpreet Singh and Rupinderpal Singh — have more international caps than Mandeep who has collected 159.

Always energetic, Mandeep adds buzz in the circle

The Indian hockey forward line has relatively young players such as Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Gurjant Singh and will depend a lot on the expertise of Mandeep and Lalit Kumar Upadhayay.

When asked about the pressure on him for scoring goals, Mandeep, who has scored 82 in the India shirt, responds modestly, “The team scores the goal. There is definitely pressure. But, my duty is to score goals or earn a penalty corner at least.”

The Indian team usually plays in front of a jam-packed stadium but will face an empty stadium in Tokyo as Japan is hosting the Olympics in an emergency situation while adhering to the Covid pandemic’s safety protocol.

When asked about the absence of spectators, Mandeep said: “Of course, we will miss the crowd. But when a player is on the pitch, his focus is always on the match. So, it will be the same in the Olympics as well.”

You can see the video of the interview here

Cover Photo: Courtesy Mandeep Singh’s Facebook