Hardik Singh: Our primary goal is to do well in the Olympics

The young midfielder has been moving up the ladder in the senior hockey team recently.

India international hockey midfielder Hardik Singh believes that the team is sacrificing a lot by staying away from their families to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics. The mega-tournament was initially supposed to be held between July 24 & August 9 this year but was rescheduled for July 23-August 8, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The squad is based in a bio-bubble and undergoing training at national camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

“We are living in a small bubble and that's helped us to know each other more. Having deeper understanding of each other's game is also helping us on the field. I think staying away from our families for nearly four months now is going to be worthwhile in the future because we are sacrificing a lot to do well in the Olympic Games. That's our primary goal,” IANS quoted Singh.

The 22-year-old has represented the country in the junior age-group levels but he missed out on the squad for the youth Men’s World Cup in 2016. However, Singh has developed to become a mainstay in the senior men’s squad in the last few years. However, the player from Jalandhar maintains that rubbing shoulders with seasoned professionals has helped him to further improve his skillset.

“I had felt awfully bad missing out the Junior World Cup which India won by beating Belgium in the final. I was part of the reserves, but I feel that disappointment of not making the squad only made me much stronger and more determined to improve my game and prove my mettle whenever I am provided with an opportunity,” Singh revealed.

The sporting fraternity has been mourning the demise of legendary footballer Diego Maradona since Wednesday. Despite being a hockey player, Hardik Singh resonated with the general outflow of emotions after the Argentine international’s passing away.

“Almost all of us in the team are big fan of football and we watch games regularly. The news of Maradona passing away yesterday shocked us and we were instantly reminded of the role he played in the 1986 World Cup where Argentina won the World Cup. He also played for my favourite club Barcelona, there is a lot to learn from his life as a legend of the game and he will be remembered for a long time,” Hardik Singh opened up.

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