I want to emulate Harmanpreet Singh, says junior team member Sanjay

The 19-year-old spoke about his dream of playing for the Indian senior team.

Indian junior men's hockey team defender Sanjay, who was the vice-captain during India's silver medal-winning campaign at the Sultan of Johor Cup last year, has taken a lot of cues from the way Harmanpreet Singh has performed for his side in the last few years.

Sanjay expressed that he is always amazed to see how Harmanpreet Singh covers a lot of ground during matches and how he is always there at the right place at the right time.

He remarked, "It's always amazing to see the way Harmanpreet Singh plays his game. He has made an immense contribution to many of India's victories in the recent past. He shows a lot of energy during matches by covering a lot of ground and being a great bridge between the midfielders and the defenders. He has scored a lot of goals as well, which goes to show that he is not focussing only on the defensive side of things."

Sanjay, who has played 31 matches for the Junior team since October 2017, has played a key role in India clinching the bronze medal at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 and the silver medal at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games 2018. The defender said that he couldn't have asked for a better start to his junior international career.

He said, "All of us judge our performances based on how we play in big tournaments and I have been very fortunate to contribute to the team's success in the last few years. The Sultan of Johor Cup 2017 was the first junior international tournament that I played and we won the bronze medal there. And then we went on to clinch the silver medal at the 3rd Youth Olympic Games 2018. So, it's been a great start to my junior international career and I hope I get to play many more matches in the future."

While speaking about his biggest dreams, Sanjay firmly mentioned that his only goal at the moment is to find a place in the senior team.

The defender said, "I have been pretty happy with the way things have gone for me at the junior level, but I certainly want to take my game to the next level and hopefully one day I will make the transition to the senior team. It's the ultimate goal for any aspiring hockey player and I am no different."

"I have learned how to play in pressure situations and I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the leadership group during the Sultan of Johor Cup last year. I am certainly going to hone my skills further and be absolutely ready when the big opportunity of playing for my country comes my way," he concluded.