Sardar Singh neither has any coaching experience nor has he trained for the job, but the former national hockey captain believes his 12 years of international experience will be enough to ensure that he gets India’ Best performance from A’ team. Which will compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games this year.
Sardar and former striker Deepak Thakur were named coaches of the Indian men’s and women’s ‘A’ hockey teams respectively that will participate in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
“It is obviously a challenge for me, but after playing the game at the highest level for so many years, I am confident that I can deliver. It’s an honor and a privilege for me to have the opportunity to give back to the sport that gave me my identity.”
This was after Hockey India decided against sending the main squads for a multi-sport event due to less turnaround between the CWG and the Hangzhou Asian Games, a qualifying tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The two events will take place over a span of just 32 days and the national federation is looking to keep fresh its first-choice players for the Asian Games. Sardar is eagerly waiting for his new “challenging” assignment.
“I don’t have any coaching experience, but I have mentored budding players playing club hockey in the Netherlands and Germany. After playing the game for nearly 13 years, I know my experience will be valuable.”
In a surprising development, the Tokyo Olympics bronze-medallist pairing of Rupinder Pal Singh and Birender Lakra as well as veteran forward SV Sunil returned from retirement and were placed among men’s 330 million prospects to be eligible for selection for the Birmingham CWG team. Nominated.
All three had retired early last year just after the Tokyo Olympics.
Sardar, who has played with all three, feels that their reaction will play an important role in the success of the Indian team in Birmingham.
“It is great that I will get a chance to work with some senior players like Rupinder, Lakra and Sunil. He has a lot of international experience. Rupinder and Lakra are Olympic medalists and Sunil is a world class striker.
“They know what it takes to be successful at the top level and can share their experiences with junior players,” he said.
I will definitely take their feedback while working with the boys.
Both the Indian men’s and women’s ‘A’ teams report at the national camp at the SAI Center in Bengaluru on Monday.
Sardar, himself a fitness freak who once defeated Virat Kohli in the Yo-Yo Test in 2018, said there would be no compromise in the field, which is a key element of fast-paced modern hockey.
He said, ‘Fitness is something that I will not compromise on. Despite retiring almost four years ago, I still follow a strict fitness regimen. In today’s time fitness is very important for success in any sport and there is no scope for unfit players in world hockey.
“You can look at the current Indian senior hockey team which is one of the fittest in the world and their hard work over the years has resulted in a bronze medal in Tokyo,” said the 2014 Incheon Asian Games gold medalist.
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