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He led the Indian team to victory at the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy to register his maiden title win as captain. He played a major role on the field with two goals, apart from converting a penalty during the tie-breaker in the Final against Pakistan. However, the poor welcome and the worst-ever reward package soured the victory. India’s hockey team captain Rajpal Singh talks to Ajeyo Basu about his dream run in Ordos, China
What is your reaction on the historic victory?
It was a very good performance from the team throughout the tournament. We did not lose any matches. This is very important and has increased the level of confidence of the players. It would help us in the upcoming tournaments.
What was the feeling in the team before the final?
The boys were excited and the morale was high. We were confident that we will win. There was some extra pressure because we were playing against Pakistan, but it gave us a lot of added motivation as well. It was an extremely close match and was goalless. Then in the penalty shoot-out, we managed to hold our nerves and thanks to Sreejesh, we won.
There must have been a lot of pressure on the players during the penalty shoot-out?
Pressure is a part and parcel of international matches, and specially in situations like penalty shoot-outs. A certain amount of pressure is also necessary, because it helps to improve the level of performance.
What are your comments on the excellent performance against South Korea where your team beat them 5-3?
South Korea was a very strong team and they were among the favourites. It was very satisfying to beat them. The overall performance in the entire tournament was very good. We played extremely well in all the matches.
Before going to China, did you expect that you had a chance of winning the tournament?
Even before leaving for China, I had said that we will play in the final, and we did it. In fact we did even better than what I had predicted, we won the trophy.
How would you rate Michael Nobbs as a coach?
His coaching style is very good. He likes to focus more on attacking hockey. He likes to follow a very aggressive style.
How would compare Nobbs with earlier coaches of Indian team?
Making a comparison would not be fair to Nobbs or the other coaches. Each person has his own style.
What do you have to say about India’s penalty corner conversion rate which has not been very good?
It is one of the areas we will have to improve on. We will have to work on it during training.
Did the absence of Sandeep and Sardara Singh have any effect on the performance?
The absence of such talented and experienced players does have an effect. But it all depends on how well the replacements perform. In this case, the youngsters who came in grabbed the chance with both hands and gave a very good account of themselves.
What is your opinion on the welcome that you received back home?
The manner in which Hockey India treated us was very humiliating. The boys deserve much more than the so called reward that the federation offered to us. This is very shameful and should not have happened.
What is your reaction on the historic victory?
It was a very good performance from the team throughout the tournament. We did not lose any matches. This is very important and has increased the level of confidence of the players. It would help us in the upcoming tournaments.
What was the feeling in the team before the final?
The boys were excited and the morale was high. We were confident that we will win. There was some extra pressure because we were playing against Pakistan, but it gave us a lot of added motivation as well. It was an extremely close match and was goalless. Then in the penalty shoot-out, we managed to hold our nerves and thanks to Sreejesh, we won.
There must have been a lot of pressure on the players during the penalty shoot-out?
Pressure is a part and parcel of international matches, and specially in situations like penalty shoot-outs. A certain amount of pressure is also necessary, because it helps to improve the level of performance.
What are your comments on the excellent performance against South Korea where your team beat them 5-3?
South Korea was a very strong team and they were among the favourites. It was very satisfying to beat them. The overall performance in the entire tournament was very good. We played extremely well in all the matches.
Before going to China, did you expect that you had a chance of winning the tournament?
Even before leaving for China, I had said that we will play in the final, and we did it. In fact we did even better than what I had predicted, we won the trophy.
How would you rate Michael Nobbs as a coach?
His coaching style is very good. He likes to focus more on attacking hockey. He likes to follow a very aggressive style.
How would compare Nobbs with earlier coaches of Indian team?
Making a comparison would not be fair to Nobbs or the other coaches. Each person has his own style.
What do you have to say about India’s penalty corner conversion rate which has not been very good?
It is one of the areas we will have to improve on. We will have to work on it during training.
Did the absence of Sandeep and Sardara Singh have any effect on the performance?
The absence of such talented and experienced players does have an effect. But it all depends on how well the replacements perform. In this case, the youngsters who came in grabbed the chance with both hands and gave a very good account of themselves.
What is your opinion on the welcome that you received back home?
The manner in which Hockey India treated us was very humiliating. The boys deserve much more than the so called reward that the federation offered to us. This is very shameful and should not have happened.
