S2H Team

India captain Manpreet Singh and teammate Harmanpreet Singh addressed the media in an online conference on Saturday. The duo was at the Kalinga stadium in Bhubaneswar where the FIH Junior World Cup is in progress and expressed their thoughts on the Asian Champions Trophy in Dhaka, Bangladesh, next month where India will attempt to retain the title won in Muscat in 2018.

They also shared experiences with the junior string with whom they are interacting and mentoring. Both players are in the midst of important happenings in life. Manpreet has become a father of a baby girl and Harmanpreet has recently married.

Both have shown great commitment to the cause of Indian hockey with their presence in Bhubaneswar.

Manpreet, a midfielder, replied to queries on the Indian team. Expectedly, the absence of star goalkeeper Sreejesh, raised a few eyebrows but the captain said candidly,

“He has been rested as indeed a few of other regulars in order to give youngsters a chance. These young players have given 100 percent at the camps and have played the senior team in about six matches but with ony 16 or 18 getting selected for the top tournaments, they’ve now been given a chance to show their game in a competition,” Manpreet said.

Harmanpreet was asked to comment on a group of drag-flickers that the junior team has. “It’s good to have options when it comes to drag-flicking,” he said. “It keeps the opponents guessing, especially if you use variations,” the sturdy defender added.

Defender Harmanpreet, one guessed, would have been sought for advice. He confirmed the same that he along with other senior team players have been interacting and advising their young understudies – he, particularly on drag flicks.

“I spoke with Sanjay (the promising drag-flicker) and gave him advice on the positions he adopts, especially in the defensive 25 and how he should mark opponents and cut out crosses,” Harmanpreet revealed.

Manpreet expressed his take on the junior team (who qualified later in the day for the quarterfinals by beating Poland). “They’ve played good hockey even though they lost against France,” he said.

Manpreet said mentoring the juniors is a learning process for the seniors as well. “Continuous advising and analyzing helps us because we have the same playing pattern and we are learning as well and we could well apply a lot to our team…it’s a different experience,” Manpreet said.

Harmanpreet, on his part, is assured that if the team maintains its structure it can beat anyone.

After the defeat to France, Manpreet spoke to Vivek Sagar Prasad, the captain. “We touched upon improving on-pitch communication. We also spoke about maintaining team unity and how important it is. Even in defeat, it was good to see the team’s ability to score which they did till the last minute (India fought back from 2-5 to lose 4-5),” Manpreet said, while viewing the French as a team to be watched at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Manpreet., who said that his team has got used to the bio bubble in Bengaluru where it camps at the SAI Complex even though it took some getting used to.

“Yes, we would like to live normal lives and be with family and friends, but living in the bubble has led to team bonding,” he said.

The Asian Champions Trophy will be the first competition after the Olympics and Manpreet said his team is up for the challenge.

“We are in pretty good shape. The break resulted in a drop in fitness but we have now picked it up,” he said.

Manpreet knows too well that 2022 will be a very busy year with the Asian and Commonwealth Games and the FIH Pro League dotting the calendar with the World Cup to follow in early 2023. He is therefore happy that the Asian Champions Trophy will kick-start the team’s build-up to those challenges.

Manpreet holds a positive attitude to the potential competition provided by the junior players. “It will spur the seniors to better efforts knowing that there are youngsters pushing for spots in the team,” the Indian captain said.