Commonwealth Games 2018: "'Indian Masala' key to our success in Gold Coast," says Harmanpreet Singh

The Indian Hockey side has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last year or so, and one man who has gelled well with the team is defender Harmanpreet Singh. Along with star man Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet is set to form a formidable duo, that not only aims to stop the opposition attackers, but also score tons of goals.

Being one of India's penalty corner experts, the 22-year-old Harmanpreet is set to shoulder a lot of responsibility for India.

Sportskeeda caught up with Harmanpreet on the eve of the Indian hockey contingent's departure for Gold Coast, Australia, where the Commonwealth Games are set to be held.

Here are a few excerpts from our conversation with him.

Sportskeeda: India has a large pool of players to pick a squad from. We essentially have three squads. How do you think this benefits the players individually and the team as a whole?

Harmanpreet Singh: The current system is really benefiting everyone. We have such a large pool of players in the camp in Bangalore, so everybody gets the exposure. Even the young players are getting a lot of opportunities here. So if you look at it that way, everybody stands to gain.

It also helps us to stick together as a team. There are no hard feelings inside the camp. Whoever will work hard and perform well, will get the call-up for the national squad from coach Marine. We all understand that.

Yes, there’s tough competition for places in the squad, but that’s something that is required. International hockey is a completely different ballgame. All these teams have so many experienced and skilful players. So if you have competition here, and can push through the pressure and make it to the national squad, then you stand a better chance to do well in the international tournaments.

When there’s competition for places, as a player, you always tend to introspect. Where can I improve? Where am I going wrong? In the end, you keep thinking about your game, and you keep improving yourself because there are three other guys ready to take your place.

SK: Since last year, you guys have been playing a completely different brand of hockey under coach Sjoerd Marijne. How much do you feel you guys have progressed as a team?

HS: We play a very attacking game now, under coach Marijne. If you see, before we used to play a lot slower, and a lot safer. Now, our game is fast. One thing that has really helped us play this style is the quarter rule. Every 15 minutes we get a short break. Hence, we can maintain the tempo throughout the match.

Right now, our main focus has been on defence and on how to score the goals – both field goals, and penalty corners.

It's very important to communicate when you’re playing the way we do. Especially when we play the 75-press (a high-pressing game). in such scenarios, the forwards become very important. Sometimes we have to revert to 50-press (half-line) as well.

SK: Speaking of coaches, Roelant Oltmans will now be in the Pakistan dugout. Does this make the CWG clash against Pakistan all the more special?

HS: Oh, there’s always excitement when India and Pakistan play against each other. It's good that fans are always excited about this match, but as players, we can’t just lose our heads and do something stupid.

Coming to Oltmans, he is a great coach, and we played really well under him. Yes, he knows most of us, and how we play. But we also play a different system now, so that will obviously make a difference when we go up against Pakistan.

At the end of the day, it all depends on how the players play their game. The coach can only tell them how to play it. But once the hooter goes, its all up to us.

SK: Coach Marijne has often spoken about giving freedom to the players. As a defender, exactly how much freedom do you get?

HS: See, as a defender you are unlikely to get that much freedom. However, for both Rupinder and me, the coach has given us all the freedom when it comes to penalty corners. Rupinder paaji always comes up to me and asks whether I’m feeling confident with the penalty corner. If I’m not, then he takes it, and vice-versa.

But it all depends on how you handle the pressure. Whether it’s a practice match or a tournament, you should never let the pressure get to you. You need to just enjoy your game. That’s something that the coach always tells us.

SK: What is your target, both as a team and personally at CWG?

HS: As a team, we want to go for gold at the Commonwealth Games. On a more personal note, I would like to improve my game and eliminate the mistakes that I generally make. Also, I’ll try and score as many as I can, from the penalty corners. I’ll put in all my effort to be the top scorer. Won’t mind if Rupinder paaji becomes the top scorer either.

SK: The Odisha Government has been doing a lot to help Indian hockey. How big is the sport in Odisha?

HS: Odisha is a great place to play hockey. The fans are really enthusiastic there. The World Cup will take place there, so we are all really excited about it as well because when fans get behind you like they do in Odisha, that really gives you a boost.

Even in the pouring rain, they fill the stands. That just proves to you, how much people love hockey over there. As a player, when you see that, you get a sense of responsibility to win matches and bring home medals for these fans.

SK: So which state is bigger for hockey? Odisha, or Punjab?

HS: Hockey badi hai. State toh kahi pe bhi khel sakte hai. (Hockey is bigger than any state. We can play the game anywhere).

SK: Whatis the strongest aspect of the national team right now?

HS: Our strikers that we have are the best in the world. We call them “Indian Masala” (laughs). The slightest chance they get, these guys can pounce on them. Now giving them the structure is the key thing, and that is something that coach has done over the past year.

They are swift, they can dribble, and they can shoot. Now, with the quick passing style that we have adopted under coach, this combination can actually confuse any defence.