'With them as leaders, we can go into battle' - Delhi SG Pipers coaches Graham Reid, Tushar Khandker talk about their plans

Delhi SG Pipers have announced their captains for upcoming HIL.

Delhi SG Pipers have announced their captains for the upcoming Hockey India League for both men’s and women’s teams respectively. Two-time Olympic bronze medalist Shamsher Singh and Australian forward Jake Jacob Whetton have been named as co-captains for the men’s team. While the women’s team will be captained by Navneet Kaur, who has more than 100 international caps.

Graham Reid, who coached the Indian men’s hockey team to bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics and is now head coach of the Delhi SG Pipers men’s team, emphasized the importance of having multiple leaders in the team and shared his experience working with both Shamsher and Jake. Meanwhile, Tushar Khandker, the women’s team coach, praised Navneet’s experience and performance.

Delhi SG Pipers men’s team will hold a camp in Bhubaneswar from 15th December while the women’s camp will be held a little later as the tournament begins from January 13. The team will then shift the base to Ranchi.

Both the men’s and women’s teams of Delhi SG Pipers will play the inaugural matches of both men’s and women’s Hockey India League. The men’s team will play their first match against Team Gonasika on 28th December at Rourkela. Elsewhere, the women’s team will face Odisha Warriors on January 13 at Ranchi.

Captains and coaches of both teams spoke to the media on Friday at a press conference. Here are the excerpts.

Also Read: Delhi SG Pipers announces captains for men and women’s teams

Q) What was the thought process behind appointing the said players as captains?

Graham Reid: We have got two captains. In any of the teams I’ve been involved with before, I’ve tried to have numerous people in the leadership group and so it is the same with the pipers. As far as Jake is concerned. I think I was coaching him when he first debuted for Australia. I’ve seen him grow and then the leadership capabilities that he now has is going to bring a lot to our team.

Then you have Shamsher and again I was lucky enough to be coaching India when Shamsher started both at the camp and then we chose him in the national team. To see him grow from the quiet little achiever that he was to now a dual Olympic medalist is also great to see. So, it was pretty easy picking these two. I think with both of them as leaders, we can go into battle.

Tushar Khandker: Navneet is the main player, she’s experienced enough, and she’s played lots of international hockey all over the world. She’s Olympian and the kind of performances that she has given so far in last five, six years for the country, it’s, it’s amazing.

Q) Navneet, the coach has shown a lot of faith in you. What’s your reaction to the first-ever Women’s HIL and also being appointed as captain?

Navneet Kaur: Yes, we are really very excited, especially the women’s team, Hockey India League is happening for the first time and of course, we will learn a lot from this league because we know that when it happens the main team learns a lot from it, so it will be very exciting for us too. The entire team will be very excited. We have never played together like this, so it will be a very good experience.

Q) Shamsher you are a bit of a quiet person, but your coach hopes that you are going to be much more aggressive now that you are captain of Delhi SG Pipers. How do you look forward to this challenge?

Shamsher Singh: We are very excited about the Hockey India League and our whole team is excited for this challenge. Like you mentioned, I am a quiet individual, but the responsibility that has been given, when it requires us to be aggressive, we will have to be so.

As Gram Reid said, I have worked under him before and played in the Tokyo Olympics. So, I know the structure he plays with, how to play and the technicalities of it. Whatever technical things the coach tells us; we will follow those. We are very excited for this league, and we will get to learn a lot.

Q) Jake you initially went unsold in the auction and was later picked as a replacement player. And now you are one of the joint-captains of the team. How is that feeling from being unsold to getting the chance to play HIL once again?

Jake Whetton: It’s [the auction] a very fantastic experience for us as a player, we were waiting for our name to come out and for me, it didn’t come out on the first day. Many international players were there, and all are top-class world hockey players. When I went unsold it was a little disappointing. When something doesn’t go your way, you have the right to be a little bit disappointed.

I got a call a couple of weeks later from Graham [Reid] and he offered me another opportunity to play in the HIL. I had such a fantastic experience last time when I was involved with the HIL, and it was really hard for me to say no to Graham. I am looking forward to the Hockey India league.

Q) Jake, what are your thoughts on this league and how do you plan to be the captain along with Shamsher?

Jake Whetton: I am honoured to lead Delhi, especially to be captain of the franchise in the Hockey India league. I was fortunate enough to play in the league a few years ago before it stopped and that was such an exciting thing for hockey, and I am really excited that the league is back and again super excited and super honoured to be a captain of the Delhi.

Some of the best players in the world will be there and have a really exciting competition and bring a lot of fans which is really exciting for hockey and super exciting for us as players.

Q) When and where will the teams assemble for a camp and what is the plan to get everyone ready in time for the league?

Graham Reid (Men’s Coach): We will be entering Bhubaneswar around the 15th of December for a couple of weeks. The international stars will join us when they are free from their pro league commitment. We are looking forward to that and will be training, having a lot of meetings and getting to know each other. I think connecting both on and off the pitch is going to be the key.

Tushar Khandker (Women’s Coach): Our initial days will be in Bhubaneswar, and we will celebrate the new year together and later shift from there to Ranchi. Overseas players will be joining us there. We are very excited about how they are going to shape up and how our international spot will be shaping up with them.

So, the first 10 days will be our training programs, and the training schedule will be there and then accordingly we will go to Ranchi.

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