Having made his senior India debut at the Olympic Test Event in Tokyo last year, young midfielder Shamsher Singh had many things to look forward in the year 2020. His single most important mission was to prove his worth to the team to find a place in the squad for key events this year but the pandemic derailed his plans, however did little to dent his spirit.
Two years since the conduct of the Odisha Men's Hockey World Cup, International teams that participated in the prestigious event fondly recall the incredible atmosphere in Bhubaneswar between 27 November 2018 to 16 December 2018.
Over the past few years, there has been no dearth of talent when it comes to the Indian Women's Hockey Team. The World No. 9 side has a huge pool of players who are yet to play for the Senior Team, but have already gained useful experience and exposure representing the Junior Team around the world. One such individual is Haryana's talented Defender Manpreet Kaur who is currently a part of the Senior Core Probables group, but is yet to feature for the Senior side. The 22-year-old has been knocking on the doors of the selectors for a while, and wants to continue focusing on doing the basics right.
In the National Coaching Camp since August this year, the Indian Men's Hockey Team midfielder Hardik Singh believes the sacrifices they are making now will be worthwhile if the team performs well at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. "We are living in a small bubble and that's helped us to know each other more. Having deeper understanding of each other's game is also helping us on the field. I think staying away from our families for nearly four months now is going to be worthwhile in the future because we are sacrificing a lot to do well in the Olympic Games. That's our primary goal," stated young prodigy Hardik Singh.
Odisha's young Defender Rashmita Minz has been in and around the Indian Women's Hockey Team set-up for the past four years, but the Defender only has 13 International Caps to her name in that period of time. In the four years since making her debut in 2016 as an 18-year-old against Australia when the team played three matches in Melbourne under then Chief Coach Neil Hawgood, Minz has only been able to play two more tournaments for the country. However, the Defender is determined to start afresh in this next phase of her career.
A talented forward who hails from the hotbed of hockey in India - Sundargarh district of Odisha - youngster Shilanand Lakra has been in and around the Indian Men's Hockey Team for the past couple of years, but has not managed to feature in many matches. However, having found the opportunity to focus on personal development since the pandemic struck, Lakra is determined to make the most of this period.
Manish Gour from Nagpur, who was recently awarded the Hockey India Best Technical Official 2019-2020, has stated that he is pleased to see young officials and former players from state and national level showing keen interest in officiating.