NEW DELHI: Rajinder Singh looked around in awe as he entered the iconic Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium for practice here on Tuesday. Aditya Arjun Lalage offered his salutations to the new gleaming blue turf before stepping on the pitch.
It will be a brilliant opportunity for the two youngsters to make a mark as they make their debut in the two-Test series against Germany, to be played on Wednesday and Thursday. It marks the return of international hockey to the national capital after nine years.
It was on March 15, 2015, that India women beat Poland in the final of the World League Round 2, after which the base of not just Indian but global hockey itself shifted to Odisha.
A lot has changed since then. The faded green turf has been replaced. From knocking on the doors at the top echelons of global hockey, India men have won two successive Olympic bronze medals. More importantly, the standard and quality of players has improved significantly. That is also India chief coach Craig Fulton’s focus as he aims to build a bigger pool keeping in mind the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Which is why Rajinder and Aditya apart, others too have been offered a chance to show their mettle on the international stage again. Olympic bronze medallist Varun Kumar, Nilam Sanjeep Xess and Dilpreet Singh have all made it to the squad of 22.
“Hardik (Singh) got injured (at the Olympics). Unfortunately, Jugraj (Singh) took a shoulder injury last week in training. Uttam (Singh) broke his foot in the (Asian Champions Trophy) final against China so he’s six weeks out. Bobby (Singh Dhami) had a fracture on his ankle in training. Thankfully, we’ve got a lot of players who are ready to step in,” said Fulton.
While out-of-favour Nilam (he last played in July 2023) and Dilpreet (April 2024) will aim to impress Fulton, Varun is back after pulling out of the team in February to deal with allegations of sexual harassment by a former junior woman volleyball player. The drag-flicker missed the Paris Olympics.
In February, Bengaluru police charged Varun under the POCSO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences) Act after the 22-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her over the past five years, since when she was a minor. PTI has reported that Varun has been acquitted of all charges.
“It’s been a tough time for him. But he is very strong and the team is with him. We hope that he will perform as he was performing earlier in major tournaments. We hope that he will play these matches with the same intensity and mindset,” India captain Harmanpreet Singh said.
Germany has come with a youthful team. With some seniors having retired and others taking a break post the silver medal at the Paris Olympics, the world champions will mostly field players who won the Junior World Cup last year.
“The U-21 world champs have now moved up to the seniors. They are a good team and have really good individual players. They are in the middle of their season so are in a different rhythm while we had a bit of a break post Asian Champions Trophy with some injuries too,” said Fulton.
“Germany pose a lot of threat. They are very good tactically. They can play man-to-man, zonal, can mix it up in the same half, in the same quarter. Our strategy will be to adapt. They are a good, smart team and we like playing Germany. They are difficult but we’re also a good team. It’s an opportunity to test ourselves against the No.2 team in the world.”
The rivalry has grown over the years. The teams played two crucial matches in the last two Olympics. While India beat them 5-4 for the bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Germany scored a 3-2 semi-final win at Paris. In the last 10 outings, Germany have won twice, India six times with two games cancelled.