A thunderclap rocked the KHC Dragons Stadium in Antwerp on Sunday as a ball hit Harmanpreet Singh's stick. With his 12th international hat-trick, the heroic flash saved India once again and led his team to a 5-4 victory over Rio 2016 winners Argentina in the Pro League. It has become second nature for the 28-year-old. India in need: Harmanpreet comes to the fore. Harmanpreet scores from a penalty corner (PC) as India need goals. A calm mind Harmanpreet slips the ball over the custodian in the penalty shootout to help India to victory. Hailing from Punjab, defender Jandiala Guru was instrumental in the Tokyo Olympics. Together with Rupinder Pal Singh, the two skilful movers scored a total of ten goals, two of which turned in India's historic 5-4 victory over Germany, which brought the country an Olympic medal after forty-one years.
However, Rupinder's resignation in 2021 created a significant vacuum that forced Harmanpreet to work independently. There is a considerable disparity in stroke caliber between Harmanpreet and the second battery as none of his successors have been able to fill the big shoes. Most elite teams often have two or more elite flashes on their roster. Blake Govers, Rintala Joel and Jeremy Hayward are from Australia. Olympic champions Tom Boon, Loick Luypert and Alexander Hendrickx are the best computer specialists in the world and all come from Belgium. Nicholas Bandurak and Sam Ward are British.
However, India is struggling in this area. Only 16 of the 28 key probables - including Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay and Araijeet Singh Hundal - will go to Paris in July. In the previous three years, the team management also tried Varun Kumar, Neelam Sanjeep Xess and Dipsan Tirkey, but none of them made the cut. Hockey India (HI) has roped in former India drag-flicker VR Raghunath to develop entry-level PC specialists. He adds that the second and third drags should add more to the execution, which would always confuse the admin. Harman will be constantly involved. We can erase the deficit if the second and third flashes can score ten to fifteen percent more goals. Amit will almost certainly play in Paris, although his primary responsibilities will be rushing and defense first. Furthermore, he is not a consistent PC player, managing only one point in more than ten games. Jugraj, Sanjay and Araijeet, who all made their debuts in recent years, are the only players left for India. With Sanjay scoring just two goals in 31 games and unable to translate his strong junior conversion rate into senior play, Jugraj is likely to be the second flash in Paris. Craig Fulton is known to value experience, yet Araijeet only made his debut this year.
"Jugraj is performing admirably. He has good strength and is physically and mentally strong. Rushers are brave and intelligent, that's true, but drag-flickers have also mastered cunning. Every rusher has some vulnerability. Flickers are responsible for analyzing videos and taking advantage of it's more of a psychological game now that everyone has authority, said the outgoing Raghunath in 2017. Harmanpreet was touted as India's strength before the home World Cup, but proved to be a stumbling block for the team in the quadrennial tournament Harmanpreet, knowing the hosts had a poor second battery, which saw India finish tied for eighth in the World Cup.
In Paris, the rushers and wicketkeepers will be looking to impress Harmanpreet, especially as the India captain finished first in the previous two seasons of the Pro League. Before leaving for Paris, the crew has less than two months to perfect the drag-flick section. The only bright spot in the recent trip to Australia - perhaps despite India's 0-5 loss - was the PC department as both Harmanpreet and Jugraj attended the party in Perth. In Paris, Craig Fulton hopes things will stay the same.
