Tokyo 2020: Hockey was in our hearts but now it will be in our memories, says ex-India coach Harendra Singh

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Indian men’s and women’s hockey teams made history at the Tokyo Olympics.

The Indian men’s team finished a 41-year-old medal door with bronze with a 5-4 victory over Germany, while the women’s team took a respectable fourth place after a 3-4 loss to the Olympic gold medalists from Rio in a hard-fought bronze Play- off game.

Former Indian hockey coach Harendra Singh, who coached both current men’s and women’s national teams at different stages of his career, believes the country’s performance at the Tokyo Olympics will bring about a massive tectonic shift towards the game.

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“So far we had only heard stories about the glorious past of Indian hockey, but from now on we have new stories to tell. We are fortunate to have two best Indian hockey teams (both men and women) in the same era, ”Harendra Singh told IndiaToday.In of Los Angeles.

“Hockey dil mey tha humare magar ab dimaag mey rahega (ice hockey used to be in our hearts, but now it will be remembered),” added Harendra, who has been named the new head coach of the US men’s team.

Harendra, who awarded the Dronacharya Prize in 2012, was the head coach of the Indian men’s hockey team from 2017 to 2018; Before that he was with the Indian women’s team, which won the Asian Cup in 2017.

The Indian women’s team, which did not want to give in an inch in the sauna-like situation in Tokyo, showed immense physical strength. They have proven that they can physically compete with the European teams.

Few know that it was Harendra who embarked on a rigorous fitness program with the help of scientific advisor Wayne Lombard after taking over the women’s team.

The duo made sure that each player had to pass the yo-yo test to be selected for the team. They also made it mandatory for players to participate in weight training twice a day.

“I noticed that the women’s team lacks fitness. I spoke to Wayne and we started strength training twice a day. We have set up some rules for the selection, such as passing the endurance test and the yo-yo test have been made compulsory. We asked Hockey India to appoint a team psychologist. We won the Asian Cup and the team only developed in an upward direction, ”said Harendra.

“Playing hockey at 40 plus is not easy. But the way they struggled was amazing. It felt surreal to be honest, ”he added.

India’s best performance at the Olympics was a fourth place finish at the 1980 Moscow Games. However, there was no semi-finals in this edition as only six teams competed in a round robin format, with the two best making it to the final.

Interestingly, Harendra also created a roadmap for Indian men’s hockey. He was the coach of the Indian U-21 team that won the 2016 Junior World Championship in Lucknow.

Seven players on this Junior World Cup winning team were key members of today’s senior national team and won the bronze medal. The players are Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Varun Kumar and Krishan Pathak.

Apart from Pathak, a reserve goalkeeper, all six players have scored goals in the Olympics.

“Patience is the virtue in hockey. When I left the coaching role, I begged management to stay with this group of players because they are special. I told them that this team would return from Tokyo with a medal, ”he said.

“Remember my words; this is just the beginning. The best is yet to come,” he added.

Harendra’s first appearance with the men’s team was the 2018 Asian Champions Trophy, where he led India to gold in Muscat, Oman. He also led India to a fifth place finish in the 2018 Men’s World Cup in Bhubaneswar. The men’s team also took silver at the 2018 Champions Trophy and bronze at the 2018 Asian Games.

Harendra represented India 23 times between 1985 and 1991 and played a pivotal role in India’s silver medal at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing.




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