Bengaluru: In times of crises, teams need a dependable figurehead who can rise above the rest to drag a side out of the mire.
Mandeep Singh, India’s top-scorer at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, is quickly growing into the role and hopes to propel the country at the start of a new Olympic cycle.
His hat-trick to edge out Japan 4-3 and salvage the chance to break through to the tournament final in Ipoh was an illustration of why coach Roelant Oltmans has high hopes from the 22-year-old striker.
One must always find time to introspect about moments past ahead of future challenges. And Mandeep didn’t have to scour for positives after India’s bronze medal at Ipoh, despite finishing runners-up in the tournament’s 2016 edition.
“I would have to say that this tournament in Malaysia has gone exceptionally well for us. It hasn’t been a step down for us if you ask me. There was the match against the hosts (1-0 loss to Malaysia) where things didn’t quite go our way. We had plenty of penalty corners against them and played well, but it wasn’t to be,” the Jalandhar lad said.
Asked about their 1-3 loss to Australia, he said: “I don’t believe it’s a matter of a psychological barrier when we play against Australia. We have beaten them before. We win some and lose some, and hope to win when we face Australia next.”
He finished joint-top with Australians Tom Craig and Trent Milton on the scoring charts, scoring five times and was involved in more than half of India’s tournament goals.
Germany and Belgium will be wary of him when they face India in a three-nation invitational tournament from June 1.
“This tournament is important because we’re getting practice matches before the WHL semis.”
Despite already qualifying as hosts for the WHL final later this year, Mandeep insists that the Semis are a challenge for them. “We can’t afford to relax because there are a number of good teams that will feature ian the finals as well. We have to give 100% and hope to finish within the top two to bring home a medal,” he said.
