Hockey India’s Grassroots Development Initiative: Rupinder Pal Singh: It’s Brilliant To Share With Kids What Hockey Has Given Us

Up-and-coming drag-flickers and goalkeepers are invited to a three-day training camp hosted by Hockey India at the Major Dhyanchand National Stadium in New Delhi. A select young players will get coaching from veteran Indian star Rupinder Pal Singh on honing their drag-flicking techniques. Yogita Bali and Bharat Chetri, two former goalkeepers for India, are included in the comprehensive curriculum.

In an interview with Times Now, Rupinder discusses the forthcoming Hockey India League, how he believes this effort will expand the pool of elite drag-flickers and goalkeepers, and what the Indian men’s team has to work on before their major test at the Paris Olympics. Take-outs:

What do you think about Hockey India’s grassroots drag-flicking talent development initiative?

The fact that Hockey India has brought together a number of former players to develop youngsters at the grassroots level makes me believe that this is one of their best projects. It is fantastic for us to impart our hockey expertise to these young people as well. They will also be motivated by the experience of working with previous players, which is something we did not get at this level. These benefits were only available to us after we arrived at the national camp.

Here, the children are receiving it at the age of 12 to 16, which is a significant milestone for them.

What additional plans does Hockey India have for the selected players once this season concludes?
From among all the NCOs, we will coach the drag-flickers and goalkeepers before selecting the top players. On the basis of it, the second group of players will get intensive instruction. The pool at the top would grow if we could choose even two guys from each school. The greatest goalkeepers and drag-flickers will ultimately come to India due to the growing competition.

What discussions have you had with individuals such as Jugraj Singh?
We continue to communicate with Jugraj Sir, who has been a coach for a very long period and an excellent player for India. His life experiences diverge greatly from mine. All it does is increase the quantity of knowledge these children learn from our diverse experiences.

Next year, the Hockey India League is scheduled to return. What opinions do you have about it?

This league seems to be the ideal starting point for young people. During the league’s run from 2013 to 2017, the Indian squad saw significant improvement. For the young players, sharing a locker room with both current and previous national team players is an amazing experience. The top players in the world are participating in the same league.

How should India’s recent performance in Australia be analyzed? What aspects do you believe they should work on improving?
The Indian team’s defense on penalty corners has to be strengthened since they let up the majority of their goals there, which is a serious problem. They must concentrate on making more field goals as well.

Not only are Australia and India in the same pool in Paris, but Belgium is also there, which has almost resulted in a group death. In what way do you evaluate the group?
The Indian squad has to pay more attention to the current match and less attention to the pool. Making it to the knockouts must be the top priority. You have to give every game you play from that point on. They have been training for a while, and they need to keep concentrating on the things that they have been.