Nine years ago he first stepped into the spotlight — and hasn’t left it ever since. As a defender, drag-flicker and leader, from junior ranks to senior, Indian hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh has walked into every role assigned to him with quiet confidence and made it his own.
Still just 27, Harmanpreet has been an integral part of the Indian team ever since he announced his arrival as the top-scorer at the Under-21 Sultan of Johor Cup in 2014. His elevation to senior-team captaincy in early 2022 was merely the logical culmination of a process set in motion almost a decade ago.
As a player, he is both talisman and match-winner — the drag-flicker has been a reliable goal machine, the disappointing blip during the 2023 World Cup notwithstanding. As the vital last line of defence, he understands the importance of his role. Adept at stealing the ball cleanly thanks to his keen awareness of position and opposition, he hardly ever pushes or plays rough, rarely getting involved in physical tussles despite his immense strength.
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The one standout quality, as player and person, is his calmness. He defies almost every stereotype associated with players from Punjab — he isn’t a flashy forward or overtly aggressive, he is soft-spoken to the point of being barely audible and is fantastically disciplined.
“Harmanpreet brings a lot of experience and composure, he’s not a guy who needs to shout if things are not going well; he’s in fact just the opposite. He’s quite quiet in the eye of the storm, which is good and we need that — in his leadership as well as the position he plays. He also plays a lot of minutes and is really important for us,” India coach Craig Fulton says.
Recurring motif
It’s a recurring motif. As an 18-year-old kid from Amritsar, his international breakout performance came at Johor. He had made the cut for the national camp as the second-highest goal-scorer at the Junior National Championships. Even back then, his discipline stood out — he did not attract a single warning in that tournament. “I have always been told that a calm mind wins more matches than a fiery temper. Aggression must ensure victory, not a penalty,” he had told this correspondent at that time, displaying maturity beyond his years.
Strong and stocky with broad shoulders and robust wrists toughened by years of driving a tractor back home as a youngster, Harmanpreet has always been confident of his abilities. He decided very early to be a drag-flicker so he could pose a goal threat in penalty-corners and his powerful build helped.
“Everyone loves to score goals. It was at Jalandhar [Surjit Academy] that I first tried my hand at drag-flick. My coaches felt I was good so they encouraged me to continue practising. As a defender and drag-flicker, I can both score goals and defend them, it’s the best of both worlds,” he had said with a laugh back then.
Harmanpreet’s composure and ability to communicate without getting excited led Harendra Singh to make him a part of the leadership group during the 2016 Junior World Cup, which India won (its second title, having also triumphed in 2001). By then, he was already an Olympian.
This discipline and calmness have also led to incredible consistency. Consider this: he has scored 142 goals in 180 games for the national team and since 2016 never sat out a single match in any FIH tournament, junior or senior, he has played!
In fact, his ability to consistently step up under pressure was what made his middling form during the World Cup earlier this year such a major issue. It also highlighted the team’s dependence on his goal-scoring prowess. Not that he was totally off-colour — he continued to marshal the defence admirably, with India conceding just seven goals, among the lowest in the tournament — but his drag-flicks seemed to have lost their potency and accuracy.
By his own lofty standards, Harmanpreet had an average outing. But facing the same question about his form several times a day and replying every single time without getting frustrated was a remarkable display of his patience.
The temporary dip also led to concerns of captaincy taking its toll on his game although those were soon put to rest in the FIH Pro League games that followed — he is the all-time top scorer in Pro League at the moment. And talking to others in the side, it is clear captaincy sits easy on his muscular shoulders — just like everything else. He is a calming influence, especially with the youngsters, who feel comfortable walking up to him.
The fact that he pulls his weight makes it easier for him to expect the same from the rest. During the Pro League at home in March, he played an entire game without a break and was back on-field for almost three quarters the next day. It takes an insane amount of training to attain that level of fitness in modern international hockey. It sets a benchmark for others.
Pressure of expectations
Harmanpreet plays down the pressure of expectations. “I don’t think there is any extra pressure. As a leader, of course there is responsibility. If anyone makes a mistake, you have to make sure they don’t overthink it or they will lose focus for the rest of the match. I try to talk to everyone, especially the youngsters, not just about the game but other things also — families, life, general stuff. I try to make them comfortable and help them in settling into the team, keep the atmosphere such that anyone can talk to anyone, ask anything and not hesitate.
“The more open communication you have, the better it is for the team. I try to give them the confidence to make decisions on field during a game — we can always assess later whether it was right or wrong but the important thing is to ensure they have the freedom to do what they think is right,” he explains.
Harmanpreet has always been a keen student, learning from training sessions as well as from the opposition during the game — a trait former coaches Roelant Oltmans and Harendra were particularly impressed with.
“I try to keep learning something new from every match, every tournament, every coach and every training session — only if I know my role can I help the team. As defenders we are the last line so we have to be calm and aware of the situation at all times. But we manage to multitask because it is our responsibility. When there is clarity about your role, it becomes easy,” he says.
The only change, perhaps, has been in embracing his status. The experiences over the years have replaced the shyness of youth with a comfort in communication. For someone hesitant to speak without being nudged, Harmanpreet has grown into one of the most thoughtful and articulate players in the side. It has only made him even more valuable.
“We concentrate a lot on improving our communication down the lines and he plays a massive role in that. But mainly I think he’s just a very good guy and everyone supports him and they just want to do well for him,” Fulton says.
That, indeed, is everything any captain can ask for.
