The words of Dutch head coach Jeroen Delmee before the India vs Netherlands FIH Pro League match in Bhubaneswar and Hardik Singh after it had one sentiment in common: Harmanpreet Singh is pretty good at what he does.
Delmee said that for his side to keep India at bay, they needed to avoid conceding penalty corners. Hardik said he was always confident of his team making a big play if they could just get a penalty corner in time… which he did with two minutes left for Harmanpreet to fire a rocket to equalise at 2-2 against the world No.1 side.
The Indian captain had a weekend to remember at the Kalinga Stadium as he marked his 200th senior appearance with a game-saving goal against the Dutch, after a brace against Spain. “It’s always a privilege to wear the Indian jersey and whenever I wear this, it feels like I’m wearing it first time,” he posted on social media later.
‘I’m a Harman fan’
Someone who has seen Harmanpreet develop from close quarters is Rupinder Pal Singh, himself one of India’s star drag-flickers. “I have seen him from the time he began his career, in the junior team, in the Hockey India League, and so on. Honestly, I am a fan of Harmanpreet, the way he has remained consistent and how he is there for the team every match 100 percent,” Rupinder tells The Indian xpress. “These days, if you see, international teams’ penalty corner defence has become strong. But even that hasn’t made it difficult for him to score regularly.”
At the start of an Olympic year, it augurs well for India that their talisman appears to be in good form. “More than 170 goals in 200 matches is just a phenomenal record,” Siddharth Pandey, hockey commentator and FIH Level 2 certified coach, tells this daily. “If you’d have told any coach of the Indian team a few years back that here’s a junior player coming through who will have that sort of record, they’d have bitten your hand off right away. Harendra Singh played a big role in his journey in the formative years. The first time we heard of him was after a spectacular run at the 2014 Sultan of Johor Cup. He’s not looked back since.”
The two drag-flicks he scored with over the weekend in Bhubaneswar also highlighted the variety he brings to the table. He has the wrists to go high or low, left or right. Beyond immense self-confidence, Rupinder adds a technical aspect. “His belief in his abilities sets him apart. The way he trains, and the rhythm he has, is one of the best. He has superb variety in drag-flicks, he knows how to use them. But also the way he is picking up the ball when it is being trapped is exemplary, he is barely taking any time to do that and the milliseconds he saves there because of his speed, is helping him beat the defence.”
While India have had some good flickers in the past, Harmanpreet stands out for being a complete package. “He has got a fantastic range of passes, whether it’s aerial balls, 40m slap shots, or a deceptive slap pass, he’s got it all,” Siddharth adds.
Dependency on Harmanpreet
Even as India rightly celebrate his milestone, a concern remains that Harmanpreet has been India’s top scorer by some distance in the last few years. In 2023, he scored 42 goals from 33 matches and that was followed by Mandeep Singh (18 in 31), Abhishek (16 in 27). In 2022, the corresponding numbers were 38 goals in 31 matches for Harmanpreet, followed by 13 in 28 for Mandeep and 11 in 28 for Abhishek.
Of course, Harmanpreet and India had a forgettable World Cup at home in 2023, and by his high standards, the captain didn’t find his scoring touch often enough as his team would have liked.
“We are very dependent on Harmanpreet, yes, and that was exposed at the World Cup,” Siddharth says. “He had a tough tournament, and India went on to have a bad tournament. And that experience will surely come in handy for him in Paris. But it is worrying because of what’s coming behind him, there’s not a lot. A few options going around but we genuinely lack a second world-class flicker, which is what I think got us the bronze in Tokyo.”
Indeed, one of the main factors for Indian hockey ending the long wait for an Olympic medal was Harmanpreet and Rupinder being together in the squad. “From my personal experience, especially if you saw at the Tokyo Olympics, whenever Harman and I were both playing, there is a lot of pressure on the opponents. On a given day, both of us can help each other in case one of us is not having the best of days. We were focused on what was best for the team, neither of us was selfish. It is very important to have two high-quality flickers in the squad,” Rupinder feels.
Gulf in class
The lack of a reliable Plan B remains a concern. Jugraj Singh’s flicks are pacy and he is good when a plan is presented to him but as a defender, he seems to have mistakes in him. Sanjay is an upcoming young player, a solid defender but he may not quite be a world-class flicker in six months. India unleashed Amit Rohidas as a surprise drag-flick weapon at the Hangzhou Asian Games to good effect and perhaps that remains the best second bet.
In addition to that, India’s forwards are rather skillful but not quite prolific. Mandeep is a master at manipulating space, Lalit Upadhyay scores some memorable goals, Akashdeep Singh and Gurjant Singh offer flexibility, and there are others too who are sharp with their stick skills like Sukhjeet Singh. Their overall goal-scoring output, though, needs to go up. “It will take a few months, but Abhishek could be a prolific goal-scoring forward. He has everything in his skillset to be one,” Siddharth adds.
There are areas to work on before Paris for Craig Fulton and Co. For now, though, India can remain confident that they have one of the world’s best goal-scorers in their ranks, leading the way. As Siddharth says, “It is no coincidence that India’s most successful decade in the modern era has coincided with Harmanpreet Singh being an integral part of the team.”
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