New Indian Express: Vanishing ground: Fog outside, but clarity inside for India colts

By Swaroop Swaminathan

LUCKNOW: Mandeep Singh was a very happy man. It was a week since the Indian government had announced the demonetisation move and he had finally laid his hands on a crisp, new Rs 2000 note. He had the biggest smile among all the inhabitants of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru.

It was shortlived, though, as Cody Tribe, the team’s scientific advisor, snatched the note, crumpled it and poured water. “Hang on,” he told Mandeep, who reacted as if he had seen his maker. “Apparently nothing happens to the note. It stays the same. I saw it on the Internet,” was the extent of his message. Just like he had said, nothing happened to it. “See. Told you.”

The smile on the Ranchi Rhinos forward returned and he was back dancing to a Punjabi song. And that really is the one definitive ethos of the Indian side as they get ready ahead of the junior World Cup which begins here at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium from Thursday — fun.

Unlike teams of the past, they know when to crack a joke to lighten the mood. Harmanpreet Singh, one of the foremost exponents of getting a goal from a penalty corner, was asked how he learnt the art. “I saw repeated videos of Lionel Messi doing it for Barcelona,” was his response before he broke out into a smile.

But make no mistake. They aren’t one for revelry. Some of them have already jumped past seemingly insurmountable odds. There is the story of Kishan Bahadur Pathak, the reserve custodian. His mother and father have already left for a better place and the 20-year-old has had to fight economic conditions to be here. There is the case of Armaan Qureshi, who sold food in a broiler shop run by his father in Gwalior. You could argue that most of the 18 boys first took to the sport as an escape from reality.

The side was first assembled in 2014 and under the tutelage of Harendra Singh have won a number of tournaments in that time. Quite a few people have used India and favourites in the same sentence but Harendra isn’t looking that far ahead. “A mountaineer never aims for the summit,” he said. “He or she only concentrates on their next step. If they try to keep looking at the summit every second, they won’t succeed.”

The weight of expectations has previously weighed down the senior team and Harendra is aware of that. Pressure is a natural byproduct of playing in a world event and the coach has told his players to forget all about it. “I have asked them to ‘remember why all of you entered hockey in the first place. Do not play under pressure, play normally and the results will automatically come’.” Easier said than done but the 47-year-old has a mantra that involves 16 words beginning with the letter C. “I have given the team a set of words. Calm, cool, collected… when you implement all those traits, you are in control of your emotion.”

The challenge is simple — win the World Cup (India have won this tournament once previously, in 2001) — and there is a genuine belief in the camp they can achieve something special. Skipper Harjeet Singh says: “When we started as a group in 2014, coach told us we have a mission. Now it’s time to prove ourselves.” The next 10 days will offer more proof.