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Fitting into the groove
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Meet 19-year-old Junior World Cupper Sandeep Singh who dreams `to be a specialist drag-flicker'
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YOUNG GUN Emerging drag flicker Sandeep Singh PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR
His source of inspiration was the sight of Jugraj Singh essaying his dreaded drag-flicks.
Nineteen-year-old Sandeep Singh has come a long way since making his debut for India juniors in Poland in 2003. The soft-spoken Sardar from Chandigarh was the top-scorer in the last Junior Asia Cup with 16 goals — most of them coming through penalty-corner conversions. It was a clear sign that he was settling into the perfect groove.
For the Indian Hockey Federation's think-tank struggling to find a suitable replacement for Jugraj Singh, the emergence of Sandeep Singh could be one of the positive aspects. This youngster says that he practices about 1500 to 2000 drag flicks daily to master the difficult art.
"It is easy to appreciate good skill. But only we know how demanding the job can be," he stresses. Not many are aware that he is the younger brother of Bikramjit Singh of Indian Oil Corporation — the player who was involved in a brawl with Gagan Ajit Singh during the Senior Nationals in Hyderabad last month.
A S.A.I. Hostel product, Sandeep says about his efforts to master the drag flick, "Initially, it looked very easy. But later, I started developing body pains. It was almost unbearable. But realising that I may have a role to play in the fortunes of the Indian team, I decided not to stop."
He was terribly upset when he heard about Jugraj Singh's accident. "He is a terrific guy besides being a bundle of true talent," says Sandeep Singh admiringly.
This first-year B.A. student, who has already represented India in the 2004 Athens Olympics, attributes his success rate to his first coach Baldev Singh. "I want to be a specialist drag-flicker. There are no second thoughts about this," he says.
Advice from Abbas
Did he discuss his game with the Pakistani star Sohail Abbas? "Yes, during the Premier Hockey League, we had regular interactions. His advice to me was to make the flick stronger and try deceptive methods to beat the custodian. Sohail told me not to be predictable and always try to read the minds of the defence to beat it," recalls Sandeep Singh.
To keep himself fit, this lanky youngster does a lot of cycling, and plays football. Strangely, his favourite is not a drag flick expert but the mercurial Dhanraj Pillay. "He has encouraged me right from the start of my international career," he says.
What keeps him on his toes during the camp is the competition for a slot in the team.
"It is always good to have competition for any slot. The presence of Navpreet Singh and Raghunath in the camp is really motivating me to improve my game. We keep discussing our game for better results," he points out.
"For me, the PHL was a great experience. The presence of Spanish captain Juan Escarre in the Chennai Veerans team was a plus point. The PHL gave me an ideal platform to learn many things," he says.
But one thing, which really hurts him is the lack of adequate exposure for hockey players even now. "People say so many good things about sportspersons who have very small achievements. But they run down the Indian hockey team with a stroke of a pen," argues Sandeep Singh.
Like many youngsters of his age, Sandeep Singh is sentimental. If he scores goals early in the tournament, he tries to use the same hockey-stick throughout, and also to wear the same jersey. This `Young Gun' ( who loves Shah Rukh Khan movies) is all geared up to make rival defences dance to his tunes by essaying those deadly drag-flicks and thereby helping India in its campaign to retain the Junior World Cup.
V.V. SUBRAHMANYAM
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