"The difficulty in lockdown prepared us for the Olympics": Penalty corner specialist Harmanpreet Singh

Indian hockey player Harmanpreet Singh is one of the most prominent and important members of the team in recent years. His immense contribution to the team was a huge key role behind India's bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. The Indian Star defender also won the title of FIH Men's Player of the year 2021.

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Harmanpreet Singh talked about the team and more in his guest appearance on the Hockey India podcast "Hockey Te Charcha". On the Tokyo Olympics 2020's success, he said the difficulties they faced due to the lockdown. "Our team spent a lot of time together in lockdown last year before the Olympics. It was a difficult situation because we were not able to visit home in the initial months of lockdown, but facing that period of difficulty together prepared us for the challenges of the Olympics last year. Even after trailing 3 – 1 against a team like Germany in the Bronze medal match, it was our collective mindset in difficult situations which got us over the line eventually." 

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"I really enjoy this additional responsibility of being Vice-Captain": Harmanpreet

Harmanpreet Singh debuted in the national team in 2015. He has grown a lot and exponentially improve himself in the team's ranks. He is now the vice-captain of the Indian men's hockey team. When asked about this, he shared, "I really enjoy this additional responsibility of being Vice-Captain. It has never felt like an added pressure because everyone in the team is able to communicate openly with each other. Of course, Manpreet and other senior players like Sree Bhai (PR Sreejesh) also take responsibility to guide the team in training and match situations, so it is a collective effort on the part of the whole team to grow together."