In the last three games of the junior Asia Cup, India registered wins of 9-0 (vs. Oman), 6-1 (vs. Japan) and 6-2 (vs. Pakistan) to assert their dominance and lift the trophy in Kuantan, Malaysia. With such victories, one would question the level of competition but Harmanpreet Singh reckons it’s a case of the team doing well to win big.
In total, India scored 32 goals in the tournament at an average of more than 5 goals a game. “I think the competition was good. Our match against Malaysia was tough to start with. I believe there are a few teams in Asia with a high level. When you play in world events, the European teams create a challenge. Although I think Australia is the toughest opposition in the world at the moment,” said Harmanpreet — man of the tournament — who finished with 15 goals to his name.
Harmanpreet rose to fame last year when he scored nine goals in the Sultan of Johor Cup and then bagged a contract of $51,000 with Dabbang Mumbai in the Hockey India league.
Further, owing to his drag flicks and penalty corner conversion, he is considered a strong contender to come up to the senior side soon. This is one area where India needs help as the Hockey World league semi-finals in Belgium showed where India capped a miserable five goals from 20 chances.
But, Harmanpreet hasn’t got a call yet. “No there has been no call or chat with anyone from Hockey India yet. I haven’t spoken to Roelant Oltmans (chief coach) about it. I’m happy with where I am and how I’m performing but if the call comes, I’d definitely go,” he stated.
Queried who he credits for his rise, he wastes no time in saying ‘the coach’ - Harendra Singh. “He’s given me a lot of chances and instilled confidence in me. There are things that you need to learn and improve upon and that holds true for me too,” he clarified.