Hockey World Cup | Every player in my team is same for me, asserts Harendra Singh
National Hockey coach Harendra Singh has stated that there are no hierarchies in his team and he considers all the players in the squad as equals. An 18 member squad for the upcoming Hockey World Cup was announced on Thursday which will continue to train in Bhubaneshwar till November 23.
The Hockey World Cup is set to begin from November 28 at the refurbished Kalinga Stadium and recently India announced the 18-member squad in which SV Sunil and Rupinder Pal Singh had been excluded due to injury concerns. Coach Harendra Singh has stated that he considers every player in his team as same and there is no difference between experienced and rookies.
“I don’t define players as senior or junior. Those words don’t exist in my team because the moment you play international hockey, it means that you have enough experience to represent the country,” coach Harendra Singh told DNA.
“For me, if you have played 400 matches for India or you’re playing for the first time, you’re wearing the same India jersey. You’re playing for the same team, you’re playing to win, and you’re playing a sport you love. So, that passion should be the same, whether you’re representing India for the 400th time or the first.”
The Indian squad for the World Cup squad also has six members from the Junior Hockey World Cup winning team of 2016. The coach emphasized that the Junior World Cup has to be in the background but what is important for the selection is the current form and the fitness of the players.
“One thing with a lot of players in this team is, they know how to play in front of 25,000 people screaming from the stands. They have been tested in the same environment in the Junior World Cup. Their Junior World Cup experience can be looked upon as a cushion, but at the same time we cannot ignore their current form and fitness.”
After a few years, the current Indian Hockey team inspires confidence even though they tend to buckle under pressure at crucial junctures, like the Asian Games where they were the
“That’s one thing we’re focussing on, and I’m holding team meetings as well as individual meetings to address it,” he concluded.