~Rajinder Singh made his debut in October 2024 and has since change into an important a part of the squad~
Bengaluru, ninth Might 2025: Rajinder Singh made his senior debut in October final 12 months throughout a two-match sequence in opposition to Germany, and eight months later, he has change into a pivotal a part of the Indian Males’s Hockey Workforce. The midfielder is at present coaching on the Senior Nationwide Camp at SAI Bengaluru forward of India’s FIH Hockey Professional League 2024/25 matches in Europe.
Speaking in regards to the ongoing camp, Rajinder mentioned, “The preparations are going very well. We’re working rather a lot on our health. Some gamers are specializing in health, whereas others are engaged on stick-and-ball expertise, so it’s a mix of each. The sooner camp earlier than the Senior Nationwide Championships was solely targeted on health, however now we’re doing a little bit of every part.”
India performed the house leg of the FIH Hockey Professional League in Bhubaneswar in February this 12 months, the place they bagged fifteen factors with 5 wins in eight video games and are at present positioned third within the factors desk. Their three losses got here in opposition to Spain, Germany, and England — all of whom they defeated within the reverse fixtures.
Reflecting on the group’s efficiency within the match up to now, and speaking in regards to the matches forward, Rajinder mentioned, “There have been fairly a number of ups and downs in Bhubaneswar, however we discovered a terrific deal from them. We nonetheless have video classes on these matches as we put together for the upcoming leg. The groups we’ll be dealing with subsequent are very robust, so we have to carry out at our greatest. Our intention is to qualify for the 2026 World Cup by the Professional League.”
“Throughout the Bhubaneswar leg, we realised that whereas we had been making circle entries, we struggled to transform our probabilities. Proper now, we’re focusing rather a lot on our sport contained in the circle to make sure we convert area objectives. We don’t need to rely closely on penalty corners,” he added, discussing India’s present technique.
At simply 22, Rajinder has already change into a core member of the group and a key presence within the midfield. Hailing from Haryana, he rose by the ranks of the junior group, with whom he gained the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2022 and the Junior Asia Cup in 2023. Sharing his expertise taking part in with the senior squad, he mentioned, “I’ve discovered rather a lot throughout my time with the senior gamers. They information us children effectively, and every time we make errors, they present us easy methods to deal with the state of affairs, keep calm, and deal with our sport.”
Rajinder credited senior gamers Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, and captain Harmanpreet Singh for his speedy growth over the previous few months.
“Hardik paji and Manpreet paji play within the midfield with me, in order that they information me rather a lot. After each mistake, Hardik paji tells me what I ought to do subsequent. Even Harman paji usually calls out to me from behind to information my positioning.”
Rajinder has been in superb kind this 12 months, additionally taking part in an important function for the Hyderabad Toofans within the Hero Hockey India League 2024/25 season, serving to the franchise end as runners-up. He continued to construct on that momentum and impressed throughout the opening video games of the FIH Hockey Professional League 2024/25, that includes in seven out of India’s eight matches.
India’s European leg of the FIH Hockey Professional League is scheduled for June, the place they are going to face formidable opponents within the Netherlands, Argentina, Australia, and Belgium.
When requested about his private objectives for the upcoming match, Rajinder replied, “The groups we’re about to face play an especially aggressive and attacking fashion of hockey. I need to deal with my defence as a result of I don’t need any participant to dodge previous me or break by my defence. They play a really bodily sport, so I’ll guarantee I play shoulder-to-shoulder with them.”
