'This team has everything': Harendra Singh confident of Indian hockey team winning another Olympic medal in Paris

Harendra Singh, the current coach of the Indian women's team, is confident that the men's team has all it needs to win a successive Olympic medal in Paris as skipper Harmanpreet Singh & Co begin their journey with the match against New Zealand on Saturday.
Harendra's advice to the team is to keep it simple and play the normal game.


"My advice to them would be just play your normal game.India has all the qualities to finish on the podium. I am not predicting the colour of the medal but they can win a medal for sure. This team has everything," Harendra told PTI Bhasha.
"The team has a good forward line, great midfielders and of course the wall of Indian hockey PR Sreejesh, a cool captain like Harmanpreet Singh. Craig (Fulton) is a great coach. He knows what it needs to be a champion team. He knows how to deal with crunch situations. He has good experience of European and Indian style of hockey," added Harendra, who was the coach of USA men's team before returning to India earlier this year to take charge of the women's team.

Harendra has an extensive background in coaching and managing both senior and junior national teams. His experience spans across notable events such as the 2000 Sydney Olympics, 2005 men's Junior World Cup, 2006 men's World Cup, 2006 Asian Games, 2009 men's Asia Cup, and 2010 men's World Cup.
In 2014, he assumed the role of head coach for the national men's junior team. Under his guidance, India emerged victorious at the junior World Cup held in Lucknow two years later.
Harmanpreet, a member of the junior World Cup-winning squad, had caught Harendra's attention even then. The coach had foreseen that the talented dragflicker would achieve significant milestones in his career.

"Harmanpreet is a great captain. I want to disclose that in October 2015 before junior team's departure for Johor Cup, I told him (Harmanpreet) in front of the entire team that if you keep your head down and keep improving, not going too hard, one day you will lead the Indian team," said Harendra, who was the coach of 2017 Asia Cup-winning Indian women's team.
"The best thing about him is he remains cool in every situation. He never lets pressure affect him in any situation. This is his strength and being a defender he is leading the team the way it should be. He can make good decisions because of his calmness and that is why he is one of the best dragflickers in the world at this moment."

"I think he is one of the best captains Indian hockey has produced in recent years. He has the capability to execute plans," he said.
"He is also one of the main goal-scorers for India and inspires others by his own performance. Harmanpreet can single-handedly turn a match in India's favour," said the 55-year-old, a member of India's 1990 Asian Games silver medal-winning side.
Harendra expressed his desire for the team to secure a medal in Paris as a perfect send-off for the team's veteran goalkeeper, PR Sreejesh, who has announced that it's going to be his last international tournament.

"Wo mera Jangoo (Sreejesh is affectionately called) hai and a medal will be a good salute to him. We started our journey almost together and today he is going to play his fourth Olympics," he said.
"Modern day hockey is very demanding. Since his (Sreejesh's) debut, India have played more than 1000 matches and to keep himself fit physically and mentally and perform at optimum level is truly incredible. A big salute to him."