After leading the Indian colts to victory in the Junior Hockey World Cup title, skipper Harjeet Singh on Wednesday asked his teammates to perform well in the upcoming 2017 Hockey India League (HIL) to guarantee a spot in the senior national side.
“When coach Roelant Oltmans joined our camp ahead of the Junior World Cup, he said that the Junior World Cup performance will be a stepping stone for many of us as it’s only the start of our career. How we play in the HIL will be crucial in terms of our selection for the senior men’s camp,” Harjeet said.
“After the final match, our coach met the team for 10 minutes and told us that our aim should be to make the cut for the senior squad,” recalled the 20-year-old midfielder.
The fifth edition of the HIL is scheduled to begin on January 21, following which, Hockey India will announce the probable list for the senior men’s national camp, scheduled to commence at SAI Centre Bengaluru in March.
In the HIL, Harjeet played for Delhi Waveriders, which featured three players from the Junior World Cup winning squad – Santa Singh, Parvinder Singh and Mandeep Singh.
Harjeet has earlier featured in the national side for two tournaments, Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and Champions Trophy. India bagged a silver medal each in both the tournaments.