Junior World Cup win only the beginning, says Harjeet

New Delhi: Four years ago when Harjeet Singh first broke into the junior hockey team, a casual query from this correspondent had left him stumped.

“Which school do you attend?” yours truly had asked and Harjeet after pondering for almost 30 seconds, said he could not recollect.

“What do you want to ask me? Zyada mushkil sawaal to nahi puchne?” he had asked before adding, “Mujhe ye sab baat karna nahi aata. I just play hockey.”

His innocence was unmistakable, and so was his focus: hockey.

Today, the 21-year-old is a well-known name, having led India to the Junior World Cup title in Lucknow last month. Remind him of the conversation and he laughs, “Asli gyan kitaabon se thode aata hai.”

One would agree seeing how Harjeet has grown up gradually, both in age and maturity, and led his team to the crown admirably.

If the team were under stress, Harjeet was their shepherd. If there was a tragedy — a few players lost close ones in their journey to the World Cup — Harjeet lent a helping shoulder. If they needed motivation or stern words, the youngster reminded them of the hardships faced all this while. And if they finally needed to relax after a hard day’s work, the skipper gathered everyone in his room and made them ginger tea — every evening.

“We are one family,” says Harjeet as he reflects on his journey and the World Cup title triumph. “I started playing international hockey at the age of 15 and did not know anything else other than hockey. But it is important to understand and learn new things.

“Quite a lot of players from our team belong to a poor background, we have shared and suffered a lot together and when you put such a bunch together you learn to fight.

“Ek alag hi jazba hai in sab mein... hockey ke alawa kuch hai nahi na. Isliye sab kuch yehin laga dete hain.”

A night before the Junior World Cup final against Belgium, Harjeet gathered his players and reminded them of the hardships they had faced in the run-up.

“It was a very simple talk. I reminded them of the sweat, hard work, laughter and even gaaliyans that we had faced together in numerous camps in the lead up to the final.

“I told them that you can play many World Cups and Olympics at the senior level, but as a junior (Under-21), you can play just one World Cup and let us graduate to the senior level with a win.

“I said, this is the day we have waited for two years and we will only return from the field with a gold.”

As Harjeet and his boys celebrated on the field after defeating Belgium 2-1, his village folks huddled in front of a small television in Niholka, Kurali, while the youngster’s father Rampal was away on duty. A truck driver by profession, Rampal could not afford to skip work even on that day.

Says Harjeet, “We do not have a television at home, so my family either goes to my uncle’s place or do not watch me at all. I think my dad was busy but he is very proud of what we have achieved. I met him in Kolkata (while playing for the Beighton Cup last week) and it was only after a gap of 4-5 months.

“All this is normal life now since we have dedicated our lives to hockey.”

And what about a television set at home? Laughs Harjeet, “We are building a new, bigger home now. Till now, it was only one room. We will get a TV there so that they can see me play.”

It is no surprise that Harjeet is now spoken in the same breath as senior midfielders Sardar Singh and Manpreet Singh, and many see him as the one for the future as the federation looks to prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Says the modest midfielder, “I believe in one team so I will not speak on individual effort or goals.

“There is a lot of hockey ahead for all of us and I can promise that if this bunch stays together, you will see many highs in Indian hockey. This is the promise I can make as a skipper and a player.

“The Junior World Cup is only the beginning.”