Rourkela: The moment the umpire blew his whistle, pointing both his index fingers towards the goal, the 10,000-strong crowd erupted in excitement at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. The enthusiasm was for one sole reason – Soorma Hockey Club had been awarded a penalty corner (PC), meaning Harmanpreet Singh would be taking the drag-flick.
The crowd became louder as Harmanpreet Singh, who turns 29 on Monday, laid his sharp eyes on the pusher’s stick, bending his back at the top of the D. In came the ball, swish went the flick and a lot of ‘oohs!’ as he missed the chance.
The three-time FIH Player of the Year is clearly the biggest name in Indian hockey today, which was missing a star-like figure. With Harmanpreet emerging as the pre-eminent face of Indian hockey, that position is no longer vacant with thousands staying back after the match to get a glimpse of the two-time Olympic bronze medallist.
On a chilly Thursday evening, Harmanpreet was running a temperature, had cough and cold but still turned out for the Hockey India League (HIL) contest against UP Rudras after popping a couple of pills.
It is the same devotion to the sport that made him the sixth hockey player to be chosen for India’s highest sports honour, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, after Dhanraj Pillay, Sardar Singh, Rani Rampal, Manpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh.
“He hasn’t changed a bit since he started out. He was a calm defender and he’s still the same, someone who puts team before himself. For him, it’s never me, it’s always we. Even today, whatever he wins, he dedicates it to the team,” says Harendra Singh, who coached Harmanpreet in Indian junior and senior teams.
“But the best thing about him is his hunger and eagerness to learn. I have seen many who after success think they have become bigger than sport. He is still humble. For him failure is the beginning of learning.”
It truly is. After the high of the Tokyo 2021 bronze, the India skipper’s under-par show led to their early ouster from the 2023 World Cup – perhaps the lowest point of his career.
But since then, the drag-flicker has upped his game, spending hours in training to score consistently, helping India win several matches. All the hard yards and extra hours in the gym yielded the Jandiala Guru boy (a small town outside Amritsar) multiple laurels in the recent past including three FIH Player of the Year awards, the title of the most expensive player ( ₹78 lakh) at HIL auctions and now the Khel Ratna.
But the icing on the cake was the bronze in Paris where Harmanpreet also became the first Indian in 60 years to be the top-scorer at the Olympics with 10 goals after Prithipal Singh at Tokyo 1964.
“He has carved his niche. Most drag-flickers have a cross leg during a PC. He has a double step. The first step is small, close to the ball after which he drags his left foot long and keeps his head down,” says Harendra, now the Indian women’s hockey team coach.
“Then in the same swing, he can hit it up or down or around the first rusher which is a big problem for the goalkeeper. That is his third mark. In my analysis as a coach, it is very difficult to read his drag-flick. Only if a first-rusher throws his body on the line can he save the PC. If the first rusher misses, then it is difficult to stop him.”
Harmanpreet is a clean flicker who uses his wrist to perfection, releasing the ball in front of the body at the last moment unlike other flickers who do it parallelly while some lift their head. Keeping a low head makes it tough for the goalkeeper or rushers to gauge where the Indian defender will be aiming.
Harmanpreet keeps it so low that his left hand almost touches the turf and with a movement of the wrist he can send it up or keep it low. This comes from Harmanpreet’s initial training days where Harendra would often tie metal plate or ball to the back of his stick during PC training for him to generate more force.
“In drag-flick, everyone has their own style. Taking a PC is getting tougher day by day. Earlier, there would be only one rusher but now there are two. It’s all about practice. You analyse daily, going into the details of every rusher, where does he keep his step, where does he keep his hockey stick, the areas where you can beat him,” said Harmanpreet.
“I analyse those things a lot; which goalkeeper is good, where he does his best, where he normally saves etc. Also, when I flick, I try to make sure I go below the knee so that event if it hits the foot, we will get another PC.”
Indian hockey fans would be hoping that the India skipper keeps his head low and continues scoring through his bullets.
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