A hamstring and lower back injury at the Asian Champions Trophy last year. An ankle injury during the Hockey India League, in addition to the strain caused by the earlier two niggles. A wrist injury in the Bhubaneswar leg of the FIH Pro League. And last month, during the European swing of the league, a damaged finger tissue. Or, in the words of coach Craig Fulton, ‘smashed with the ball on the finger that split his whole finger open and couldn’t hold a stick.’ “He’s had a hard time,” Fulton adds. And so has India, without their MVP Harmanpreet Singh.
As India shift focus to next month’s Asia Cup — a World Cup qualifier and a tournament that, in Fulton’s words, is the ‘priority of the year’ — two things will be closely observed. First, if the seven defeats in eight matches in the Pro League last month were merely an aberration. And second, whether Harmanpreet can — for the first time in a year — play an entire tournament without worrying about his body.
Harmanpreet was the player of the tournament at the 2024 Asian Champions Trophy, scoring nearly one-third of India’s goals in the triumphant campaign. And across the two legs of the Pro League, he netted half a dozen more goals to the team’s joint highest scorer in the competition along with Abhishek.
With him, it’s not just about goals. Harmanpreet marshals the defence line with aplomb, giving others like Manpreet Singh and Hardik Singh the freedom to move forward. His aerial balls and sharp diagonal passes along the turf open up defences and create opportunities for the forwards.
“While you have him, he’s a powerful force,” Fulton says. “But at the same time, when you don’t have him for four games (like in the Pro League last month), it makes a big difference.”
Then do you manage his workload, the coach is asked. Fulton didn’t think it was immediately needed. “He’s working hard. We’re going to be in a good position now going into this tournament (Asia Cup) because I think we’ve had a real focus on our physicality in the training camps. We’ve upped it in terms of being better prepared physically,” he said.
A follow-up is fired at the coach: Does the team need to rethink its penalty corner strategies when Harmanpreet isn’t on the field? In short, does the team have a replacement for its go-to drag-flicker or anyone who can support him?
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“There’s a short and a long-term view on this. Because, obviously, he is not going to play for the national team forever,” Fulton says. “So what does that look like in a few years’ time? But while he’s here, how do we find someone who can support him?”
Amit Rohidas, Fulton adds, has a ‘flick and a hit’. The defender, prone to mistakes, scored a couple of goals from PC against Belgium with a powerful hit. Jugraj Singh, the coach says, has a ‘good flick’. However, he tends to be a little wayward and lacks consistency to hit the target. Fulton has tried youngsters Rajinder Singh, Sanjay and Nilam Xess, too, as India hunt for different options. “But, yes, it’s difficult to replace Harmanpreet. You know, it’s not something that you think about…”
Fulton is with India ‘A’ in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, where the team will face two matches each against Ireland, France, and the Netherlands, along with one each against England and Belgium. The eight games will also be an audition for the drag-flicking role.
“We’ve got a lot of talented guys here with the India A group. Varun (Kumar) is training well. (Amandeep) Lakra is training well in terms of the flick. Rajinder’s here. We’ve got a lot of talented guys behind… We’ll be monitoring them to see how they approach the penalty corner attack,” Fulton says.
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“So, yeah, everything’s possible. Yes, there is a challenge to replace Harman. But we’re not replacing him now. That’s for sure,” Fulton adds. “We also have some variations, some other options that we haven’t used yet. But at the same time, Harman is the main drag flicker. We’ve got to find guys that can complement him while we build into qualifying for the Asia Cup and beyond.”
Fulton will return this weekend to Bengaluru, where the national team camp will begin for the Asia Cup. There, his focus will turn to his captain. There may be a lot on his mind, but for now, the coach is looking at the positives. “At least he’s injury-free from a finger point of view. He’ll have recovered nicely now.”
