BENGALURU: On the night of January 22, 2023, on the blue astro-turf at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Harmanpreet Singh and his colleagues were broken. A few of them wept themselves to sleep that dank and dreary Sunday. The others couldn’t even sleep; they resorted to staring into the middle distance. Unsure of themselves. A dream had collapsed like a pack of cards in under 10 minutes.
India, up against New Zealand in a cross-over match, were cruising to the last eight in front of over 10000 fans. Then, in the blink of an eye, it came crashing down. The Kiwis levelled from 1-3 down before doing a number over the hosts in the shoot-out. That night, many of the senior players came in for criticism from the media, fans and other stakeholders. The one who copped a lot of it was a then-young skipper, Harmanpreet.
When he’s asked to relive that night by this daily, his face stiffens ever so slightly. “Some of those things can really hurt you,” he says. “The last World Cup wasn’t great. As a drag-flicker, I acknowledge that I struggled with the core responsibilities in the initial few games if I’m being honest. If we are talking about the shoot-out, we had two or three opportunities where we could have scored and won. Those matches teach you a lot (about life). If you trace the team’s performances from there and the individual performances too, we have done quite well.”
It’s a moment of rare candour from an Indian athlete. But it also shows why the 30-year-old is now the team’s undisputed leader. Before looking ahead to the upcoming World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium — this conversation took place a week ago — he reveals what went on inside the bonding exercise on the Swiss Alps with Paddy Upton (the side’s mental conditioning guru).
“We worked with Paddy on how to overcome fear,” the captain says. “How to tackle pressure moments, the team genuinely bonded more, and there was a lot of understanding. Talks were had about World Cup pressure, about youngsters who have come in. Everyone was open about our ultimate goal: we aren’t here to participate but to win the World Cup. Everyone is in this mindset. That way, the overall experience was really good.”
Ranked eighth, India aren’t among the favourites to win the final, a feeling heightened after this year’s Pro League (they finished second from bottom). But the 30-year-old defender sees it differently. “The start (in 2026) was tough,” he says. “It (India) was tough, but the second league (part of the Pro League) in Europe was much better. There, we grew as a team. I think we took big steps. If you see the performance, overall we are in good shape, and the confidence is good.”
Apart from the results in that second phase of the Pro League — they beat the Netherlands and Germany — they had a really good training block at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) campus in Bengaluru. “We had a few chats,” he says. “The camp was very good. We went over our individual and collective responsibilities. We spoke about entering the opponent’s half in a way where we could maximise attacking and scoring opportunities. For me, when I’m a free man on the pitch, how I should communicate with the team and what ought to be my position. And, of course, PC defence and PC attack.”
The leadership group and the support staff are clearly working under the assumption that they will play seven meaningful matches. Even if the team wants to tackle one match at a time, Harmanpreet is very clear about his goals and aspirations. “For us, it is a good opportunity,” he says. “A WC comes after four years. India has not won the WC in over 50 years. It is the one medal we lack. We believe and will put in the effort to win. We are confident about the team we have built, and we are all excited to finish this journey well by winning the WC.”
At a time of great off-field consternation, a relative veteran with over 260 caps (264, there saved you a search) has been one of the constants. What’s the one thing he has learned from this journey from junior World Cup winner to captaining India at a second senior World Cup? “The right attitude (to be captain),” he says. “It matters a lot. Surely, you learn new things; I have learnt a lot of new things. The experience of big tournaments and how you show up.”
Since that funereal night in Bhubaneswar, he added a second Olympics medal and a second Asian Games gold. Time to add a first World Cup medal to his collection.