The aim is to win Olympic gold to keep the family legacy going and get married, says Hardik Singh

Mumbai, Nov 30 (IANS) Living up to his legacy has been the cornerstone of Indian hockey player Hardik Singh's career. Having won bronze medals in successive Olympic Games in Tokyo (2020) and Paris (2024), the midfielder is now targeting a gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. This will be the second Olympic gold medal in his family, adding to the one that his uncle Gurmail Singh bagged as part of the Indian men's hockey team in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.

Hardik says there is no pressure and no competition to upstage his uncle but to keep going the family's history of serving the country on the hockey field.

"There is no competition, but it is a legacy that is going on in my family. I am always inspired by what my uncle has won. So, I will be a lot more focused on winning the gold medal. Hockey is India's national sport and I want to claim the gold medal for my country and my family," Hardik told IANS in an exclusive interview.

Winning the Olympic gold is his long-term target, the immediate aim is to win a medal in the upcoming 2026 World Cup in Belgium and Netherlands.

A fifth-generation hockey player, the 26-year-old from Khusropur, Jalandhar district of Punjab has followed in the footsteps of his father Varinderpreet Singh, his uncles Gurmail Singh and Jugraj Singh and aunt Rajbir Kaur, all of them are international players. His grandfather Preetam Singh Rai has a hockey association as he has coached many players.

Hardik has taken this legacy forward though there was a day in 2012 when he had contemplated quitting the game for good and settling in the Netherlands, as he was finding it difficult to break into the national team.

He was persuaded by his uncles, particularly Jugraj Singh, and friends not to lose heart and to continue pursuing the sport and success would come to him. Hardik did just that and the rest as they say is history. He now has two Olympic medals, an Asian Games gold medal (Hangzhou 2022), a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games and many more international accolades. The icing on the cake was the FIH Player of the Year he won in 2024, cementing his position among the top players in the world.

Though winning an Olympic gold medal is his ultimate aim, Hardik says currently his focus is to continue giving his best to the Indian hockey team in whichever way possible.

Hardik will have to play a crucial role for the Indian hockey team in the next two seasons. India go into a hectic season with the revived Hockey India League (HIL) in Rourkela and Bhubaneswar, which will be followed by the FIH Pro League matches starting in February. The team will also play Asia Cup next year which will be followed by the World Cup qualifiers in case India fail to grab a direct berth to the quadrennial extravaganza to be hosted jointly by Belgium and Netherlands in August 2026.

Hardik has already played two World Cups, in 2018 and 2023, both in India.

"At the moment, we are going step by step that we have Asia Cup now so we will focus on that and then there is World Cup and we will focus on that. Because when you have such a big aim, you have to go step-by-step. Right now our main aim is that we continue to go talk stock of where we are going, grow strong as a team and play good and error-free hockey," said Hardik.

Hardik, along with some senior members of the team and the coaching staff led by coach Craig Fulton have already embarked on that journey. They are currently in Breda, Netherlands for a series of exhibition matches to prepare for the upcoming events. Fulton has picked a number of youngsters to test them and help them integrate into the team.

The creative mind of the team as the midfield general who goes running tirelessly up and down the field, Hardik is now a senior player and sees himself playing a key role in guiding the youngsters and helping them assimilate into the team's playing style and culture.

"Training here in Breda makes me a bit nostalgic. I remember a few years back I had come to this same place as part of the Indian squad in which I was the youngest and my seniors helped me integrate into the team. Now I have to perform the role my seniors played at that time," Hardik told IANS from Breda on Friday afternoon as he enjoyed a rare off-day from hockey training. The new-look Indian team will play some exhibition matches will some Dutch clubs and is also hoping to play two matches against the Olympic champions Netherlands team.

They will then embark on a new journey in the Hockey India League (HIL) another legacy event for Hardik as he took part in the 2017 edition as a very young player.

"It is a great opportunity for us and the young players to play some of the top international stars, watch them closely and compete with them as part of rival franchises. If you see the Indian team that won bronze in Tokyo in 2021, all of those players had come through the HIL. So, HIL is going to play a big role in our success in 2028 and beyond," said Hardik.

Outside of the hockey field, the 26-year-old is a Punjab government employee and wants to get married and settle down. He says parents and spouses play a key role in keeping hockey players going.

So, to complete that setup, Hardik says he wants to get married soon. "Away from hockey, my aim is to get married," he says laughing out loud.

That would prove an easier target to achieve for Hardik as he is currently one of the most eligible bachelors in the Indian hockey team, a star player with a good government job.

--IANS

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