Thursday, January 23, 2014

Exclusive Interview: Ranchi Rhinos has the team to corner glory, says Mandeep Singh

Not many will disagree that he is the best thing to have happened to the Indian forwardline. Yes, Mandeep Singh has made that kind of impact on the international stage following his robust performance in the inaugural Hero Hockey India League after being a virtual non-entity in Indian hockey circles prior to the start of the much-hyped league.

In fact, the last twelve months has seen the nippy Jalandhar boy make rapid strides, literally taking off from where he left in the inaugural HIL, making a smooth transition to the senior national team. “I was an unknown commodity before the inaugural HIL, but my performance for Ranchi Rhinos helped me to catch the attention of all and sundry. It was this confidence that enabled to settle down with the senior team once I got my maiden call-up,” Mandeep, who was the second top goal-scorer behind drag-flicker Sandeep Singh in the inaugural HIL, says in an exclusive interview to Hockey Passion.

What has been so remarkable about the 18-year-old youngster has been his propensity to deliver lethal finishing. He was the top goal-scorer (scored 4 goals) for India in the Hockey World League semifinals in Rotterdam and produced an encore in the the Hockey World League final in front of his home crowd. “I get joy in helping my team win – it doesn’t matter whether I’m scoring or assisting my team-mate in scoring. I hope to put up a good showing in the 2nd HIL,” he says with an upbeat tone.

A product of Jalandhar-based Surjit Hockey Academy, Mandeep has shown that he has enough ammunition to undo the opposition. Besides his burst of pace, goal-poaching skills, the youngster has developed a new craft – engineering penalty corners by cleverly playing onto the foot of a rival defender. “I like to keep improving. Getting penalty corners is the job of a forward and I’m trying new ways to earn them for my side,” he says coyly.

Son of a real estate dealer, Mandeep has played under three foreign coaches – Gregg Clark (for Ranchi Rhinos) Michael Nobbs and Terry Walsh. Must have been a great experience playing under all three of them in the last twelve months? “I enjoyed playing under all three of them. All three are good coaches and helped me in developing my game. They all had their own line of thinking which is understandable. My current coach Terry Walsh is doing a good job with the team and I’m learning all the time,” he says.

How does he assess Ranchi Rhinos’ chances in the 2nd HIL? “We have a decent team and are all keyed up to replicate last year’s success. I know it won’t be easy, but we have the team to do it.”

Indian senior team’s performance in the Hockey World League Final has injected a lot of self-belief among hockey fans. The manner in which India stunned world number one Germany and led 2-0 against Australia are signs that this team is ready to take on the best in the business. “We showed that we can match the world’s best. On the personal front, I will remember this match for a long time – scoring a hat-trick against the world number one side is never a piece of cake and I will cherish this feat for a long time. Overall, this match will remain special for us,” he signs off.






No comments:

How poor managers can cause serious reputational damage to a brand!

In a fiercely competitive marketplace, companies always have one goal in mind – how it can be ‘best heard’. Companies are increasingly ‘tak...