Harmanpreet Singh's little steps earn him big call-up

"If they (selectors) feel I'm good enough, they will call me."

Those were Harmanpreet Singh's words when asked about his selection in the senior men's hockey team during the recently-concluded Hockey India League (HIL).

A month later, the call has come. The Hockey India (HI) selection committee on Monday drafted the junior dragflicker into the senior team for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia, from April 6 to 16.

The 20-year-old was picked in place of the rested ace dragflicker VR Raghunath for the tournament.

From joining the famed Surjit Singh Hockey Academy in Jalandhar in 2011 to breaking it into the senior national team, Singh's rise in hockey has been meteoric.

"I never thought I will be where I am right now," Singh said. "Everything is happening step by step, so that's good. And I hope I continue taking little steps in my hockey career."

Those little steps are actually quite large. Joining the Surjit academy aspiring to become a forward, Singh was asked to switch to defending and dragflicking after the academy coach saw something special in him. Five years on, Singh is the fulcrum of the junior hockey team, jumping into spotlight after he scored nine goals in India's successful Sultan of Johor Cup campaign in 2014. He was also named the player of that tournament. He also made the headlines last year when he scored four goals in India's 6-2 thrashing of Pakistan in the Junior Asia Cup final, ending the tourney with a whopping 15 goals.

Those exploits earned the Jalandhar boy a HIL contract with Dabang Mumbai paying $51,000 for him in the 2015 auction. So impressive was the dragflicker in his maiden season, in which he scored five goals, that Mumbai decided to retain him for the next year.

And rightly so. Many hockey experts tout him to be the future torchbearer of Indian hockey, the young star on the horizon.

"It feels nice when people talk like that and say such things about me," the shy Singh said. "But I don't let it go to my head. My mindset is very clear: work hard, train hard, and everything else will fall into place."

Hardwork is the lone word Singh harps upon. While his teammates have two sessions per day in their junior national camp, Singh takes part in a third: dragflicking session. It lasts one hour, and is the most gruelling of all.

"There is an extra amount of hardwork that goes into dragflicking during training. I do individual practice with heavy sticks and heavy balls. There are different sessions each day, and that's why the results are showing," Singh said.

Singh's penalty corners is a mixture of ferocious pace, astute placement and subtle changes of wrists. But the aspect he relies on most as he waits to take the shot is visualisation.

"I visualise the target," Singh said. "I just keep my eyes on it, and think that the ball should go there, irrespective of the bounce, speed or whatever that can make it difficult. If you think and visualise the goal, it is bound to go there."

And where does he visualise himself five to 10 years down the line?

"I want to play in the Olympics, and win a gold for India. That's my only goal," he said.

With a spot in the senior team just four months ahead of the Rio Games, Singh has taken another one of those little steps.

QUICK FIVE WITH HARMANPREET

Favourite sportsperson: Rupinderpal Singh, Ashley Jackson
Favourite non-hockey sportsperson: Ronaldinho
Favourite sport other than hockey: Football
Favourite food: Any home-cooked food
Hobbies: Playing and watching football, listening to Hindi and Punjabi songs

Sreejesh, 6 others rested for Azlan Shah

Sardar Singh will lead an experimental 18-member India hockey team, which will be without seven first-pick players including goalkeeper and vice-captain PR Sreejesh, in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup next month. The move to leave out seven players – Sreejesh, Akashdeep Singh, Dharamvir Singh, VR Raghunath, Birendra Lakra. Devinder Walmiki and Lalit Upadahyay – from the Hockey World League Final squad was taken keeping in mind the Olympics. The selectors wanted to give phase-wise rest to all senior players, who are expected to form the core of the Rio-bound team.

SQUAD: GOALKEEPER: Harjot Singh, Akash Anil Chikte; DEFENDERS: Rupinder Pal Singh, Jasjit Singh Kular, Kothajit Singh, Surender Singh, Harmanpreet Singh; MIDFIELDERS: Danish Mujtaba, Chinglensana Singh, Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh, S K Uthappa, Harjeet Singh; FORWARDS: Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Ramandeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah.