Harendra Singh no less than any foreign counterparts, assert Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh

08/10/2018

Senior Indian hockey players, Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh are delighted to have Harendra Singh as the Indian coach stating that he is no less than his foreign counterparts. They went on to add that his appointment has removed the language barrier between the players and the coaching staff.

Harendra Singh was appointed as the head coach of the Indian hockey team on the basis of his performance in the 2016’s Hockey Junior World Cup and in guiding the India women's national hockey team to the gold medal at 2017 Women's Hockey Asia Cup. In May 2018, Harendra Singh was named as the head coach of men's national team to become the first Indian to be appointed as the head coach since 2008. Prior to this, he had three stints with the team as interim coach but on his first major outing as a full time coach, the team won a silver medal at the 2018 men's Hockey Champions Trophy.

Senior players of the Indian hockey team, Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh have been very happy with the appointment of Harendra Singh as the new head coach. According to Sardar Singh, Harendra Singh has a huge experience of working along with great foreign coaches and also coaching several teams who won big championships under him. This makes him no less than his foreign counterparts. His appointment as the head coach has also removed the language barrier among the players and the coach and they can communicate clearly and understand all his instructions.

"I still remember Harendra paaji had called me to a national camp 15-16 years ago. We go back a long way. I played under him even when he was assisting Jose Brasa in 2009. It is a different feeling working with an Indian coach. We can discuss anything with him under the sun. He also openly advises us and knows that as senior players we can't change our game completely. If you see he has given results whether it is with the women's team or the men's junior side which won the World Cup. He has worked with the best of coaches. One big positive (after his arrival) is that we all communicate in Hindi now.With foreigners, even if you miss a single point during those two-minute breaks it can create confusion in the minds of the players. The coach is observing the game from the outside and he can tell you right away (what needs to be done) in your own language. There is not much time anyway to absorb anyway, so a language that all understand helps immensely,” Sardar said to the PTI.

Another senior player, Manpreet Singh also spoke largely of his new coach and how he has a very positive impact on the team. He mentioned how his way of preparation has proved to be beneficial for the team. He also gave his insight on how the time has come when India can stop with their obsession of appointing foreign coaches and comfortably reply on capable Indian coaches like Harendra Singh.

“Whenever a new coach comes, he has to make sure that we don't change our styles of play. Our strength has always been attack and counter-attack. Harendra paaji knows how to make best use of speedy forwards like S V Sunil and Akashdeep. He is a very positive person. In short time, he says the right things. He has improved a lot tactically, having worked with the best coaches in the business, though he says 'he is still learning. I think we can put an end to that practice. You saw how we performed in Champions Trophy,” Manpreet Singh quoted.

India's next assignment is at the Asian Games in Jakarta where they are scheduled to begin their campaign on the August 18. The Indian hockey team successfully won the gold medal in the last Asian games which make them the defending champions. It's is their duty now to retain the title and bring back the gold and Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh have similar aspirations.

"We all are thinking about the gold. That secures our Olympic qualification and gives us more time to prepare for Tokyo," said Manpreet.

Sardar Singh also mentioned how the loss at the Champions Trophy has affected the team. He states that the team now has become so sheerly determined that they anything less than a gold would be taken as a disappointment.

“When I started playing, we used to be 12th or 13th in the rankings. Now we are fifth. You must have observed even during the Champions Trophy that we were not happy with the silver medal at all. We had gone there to win gold. So the mindset has changed completely. We lost the final in the shoot-off but in the 60 minutes we had the ball, more possession and the other statistics were in our favour. We faltered in the shoot-out and that is something we have been working on after every training session," he said.

“The Asian Games will not be as tough as the Champions Trophy but you can't take any team lightly. In modern hockey, it is very important to read the game of your opponents. I did feel the pressure when I came back. My mindset was to give my best. My role in the team has also changed a bit. If you noticed, it is all about quick passing now, I don't hold the ball for long anymore,” Sardar concluded.

Harendra Singh no less than any foreign counterparts, assert Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh

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