Bengaluru has no plans to retire anytime soon but former Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh knows very well that the Paris Games will be his fourth and final Olympics and he wants to give his best one last time in the greatest sporting spectacle in the world.
Manpreet, 32, captained the Indian team that broke a 41-year Olympic medal drought in Tokyo by taking bronze.
Additionally, he has been a member of the team that won gold medals at the 2014 and 2022 Asian Games.
"I never thought I would be able to play four Olympics. Every player's dream is to play in the Olympics and win medals. I consider myself very lucky that this is my fourth Olympics," Manpreet told Hasha.
"I'm going to Paris thinking that these are my last Olympic Games and I have to give my best. I haven't thought about leaving football yet and my concentration is totally on the Paris Games," said the experienced midfielder, who made his debut with India in 2011 at just 19 years old, he said.
But the journey from Mithapur village in Jalandhar to Paris has not been easy for Manpreet. He had to fight poverty, false accusations, and witness his mother's struggles to make a mark on his career.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet had to go through the worst phase of his career when former coach Sjoerd Marijne leveled serious accusations at him.
Marijne alleged that Manpreet asked a player to underperform so that his friends could join the team during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, an allegation that both the men's and women's teams jointly denied, stating that the Dutchman did so. to advertise your book.
"That was the most difficult phase for me. I couldn't even think about those things. I was shattered and lost faith in everyone. I told (PR) Sreejesh with whom I share everything. My mother also encouraged me to continue playing to fulfill the father's dream and my entire team supported me," Manpreet said. "In bad times, the support of the family and the team is very important because at that time the player feels very alone. When the team stays together, it gives a lot of encouragement and also helps to recover. We have also seen Hardik Pandya is making a big comeback recently.”
"When I look back now, it seems like a dream. I come from a humble background where we have seen struggles for basic needs.
"My father worked as a carpenter in Dubai, but had returned from there due to medical reasons. My mother struggled a lot and my two brothers also played hockey, but they left due to financial problems," said Manpreet, who was the flag bearer. of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics along with boxing legend MC Mary Kom.
Manpreet is no longer the captain of the team and Harmanpreet Singh takes over the responsibility, but the star midfielder knows his role in the team as one of the senior members.
"Even if I'm not the captain now, it doesn't make any difference. Every player has his own role in hockey. The effort is to involve everyone. As a senior, we have to inspire the youth," he said.
Manpreet, who idolizes Pargat Singh, who also hails from Mithapur, said they followed the same process as they did in Tokyo in terms of preparing for the Paris Games.
"Before the Tokyo Olympics, we spent maximum time together due to COVID which resulted in excellent team bonding. We will continue the same because 11 players are the same as those who were in Tokyo. We are sharing our experiences with the five debutants," he said .
India has been placed in a tough group at the Paris Olympics alongside Australia, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland.
"Our group is tough and we can't take any team lightly. New Zealand beat us in the World Cup and Ireland recently beat Belgium. Our focus is on ourselves and how we can execute our strategy," he said.
"We have fewer opportunities against good teams, but taking advantage of 50-50 opportunities is the mark of a champion. We are well prepared to do that in Paris."
Manpreet, 32, captained the Indian team that broke a 41-year Olympic medal drought in Tokyo by taking bronze.
Additionally, he has been a member of the team that won gold medals at the 2014 and 2022 Asian Games.
"I never thought I would be able to play four Olympics. Every player's dream is to play in the Olympics and win medals. I consider myself very lucky that this is my fourth Olympics," Manpreet told Hasha.
"I'm going to Paris thinking that these are my last Olympic Games and I have to give my best. I haven't thought about leaving football yet and my concentration is totally on the Paris Games," said the experienced midfielder, who made his debut with India in 2011 at just 19 years old, he said.
But the journey from Mithapur village in Jalandhar to Paris has not been easy for Manpreet. He had to fight poverty, false accusations, and witness his mother's struggles to make a mark on his career.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet had to go through the worst phase of his career when former coach Sjoerd Marijne leveled serious accusations at him.
Marijne alleged that Manpreet asked a player to underperform so that his friends could join the team during the 2018 Commonwealth Games, an allegation that both the men's and women's teams jointly denied, stating that the Dutchman did so. to advertise your book.
"That was the most difficult phase for me. I couldn't even think about those things. I was shattered and lost faith in everyone. I told (PR) Sreejesh with whom I share everything. My mother also encouraged me to continue playing to fulfill the father's dream and my entire team supported me," Manpreet said. "In bad times, the support of the family and the team is very important because at that time the player feels very alone. When the team stays together, it gives a lot of encouragement and also helps to recover. We have also seen Hardik Pandya is making a big comeback recently.”
"When I look back now, it seems like a dream. I come from a humble background where we have seen struggles for basic needs.
"My father worked as a carpenter in Dubai, but had returned from there due to medical reasons. My mother struggled a lot and my two brothers also played hockey, but they left due to financial problems," said Manpreet, who was the flag bearer. of the Indian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics along with boxing legend MC Mary Kom.
Manpreet is no longer the captain of the team and Harmanpreet Singh takes over the responsibility, but the star midfielder knows his role in the team as one of the senior members.
"Even if I'm not the captain now, it doesn't make any difference. Every player has his own role in hockey. The effort is to involve everyone. As a senior, we have to inspire the youth," he said.
Manpreet, who idolizes Pargat Singh, who also hails from Mithapur, said they followed the same process as they did in Tokyo in terms of preparing for the Paris Games.
"Before the Tokyo Olympics, we spent maximum time together due to COVID which resulted in excellent team bonding. We will continue the same because 11 players are the same as those who were in Tokyo. We are sharing our experiences with the five debutants," he said .
India has been placed in a tough group at the Paris Olympics alongside Australia, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand and Ireland.
"Our group is tough and we can't take any team lightly. New Zealand beat us in the World Cup and Ireland recently beat Belgium. Our focus is on ourselves and how we can execute our strategy," he said.
"We have fewer opportunities against good teams, but taking advantage of 50-50 opportunities is the mark of a champion. We are well prepared to do that in Paris."
