I don't define players as senior or junior: Harendra Singh

The final 18-member squad for the World Cup seems a mixture of experience and youth. It also has some big names like SV Sunil, Rupinder Pal Singh and Ramandeep Singh missing. How do you analyse the side that has been picked?

Firstly, we have gone with current form and fitness, that's the primary criteria we had spoken about. There were a few injury issues, like that of Sunil (Sunil picked up a knee injury during a national camp last month). It will take some time for him to recover fully. He has looked fine in training, but this is the World Cup, and we cannot take any chances with fitness.
It is unfortunate for Sunil to miss out because of the injury. Otherwise, the rest of the players have been picked on form.

There are as many as six players in this team who were also part of India's victorious Junior World Cup-winning campaign in 2016 at home. Was it a conscious decision to go in with fresh blood and back youngsters for the senior World Cup as well?

Look, from 2016 to 2018, these youngsters have played enough matches and enough tournaments. So, the only focus for us was the fitness and form over the last two to three tournaments, and that's the only basis on which we haven chosen the team.

Indian teams in the recent past have failed to rise to the occasion in big world events, and a lot of it is down to the psychological aspect. By picking youngsters who might not have that mental block and mental baggage of the past, do you hope that these players will be able to play more freely?

It's not my hope, it's my confidence. One thing with a lot of players in this team is, they know how to play in front of 25,000 people screaming from the stands. They have been tested in the same environment in the Junior World Cup. Their Junior World Cup experience can be looked upon as a cushion, but at the same time we cannot ignore their current form and fitness.

My thinking is that we should look at the fact that we are playing at home as an advantage, rather than pressure. We have to enjoy the audience backing us, enjoy the atmosphere. How many opportunities like this will players get: to show their skills and talent in front of thousands of passionate home fans?

Some of these players, especially the junior boys, know what it is like to play a World Cup in India, while some don't. How much of that experience matters?

There is less pressure the next time, because you know you have been tested under a similar scenario and you know how to enjoy such an atmosphere. And it's not just for the players, it's an opportunity even for the coaching staff. We, as a team management, need to make the players look at the positives of entering into a full stadium rather than them going, 'Oh, this is so much pressure'. That's where the team management and the team environment that we create will play a big role, because that will give the extra energy to the players when they step on to the field.

That said, if I say there is no pressure, I would be lying. The moment you wear the India jersey, be it in any tournament, there is bound to be some pressure on you. We must understand that we are not backed by three-four crore people, we are followed by 130 crore people. So, it is bound to have an effect on your mind.

But, it's part and parcel of your journey as an international sportsperson. You may play in any other country in the world in front of thousand or three thousand or six thousand people. But, where else will you get a chance to play in front of tens of thousands of people in a World Cup in India? That's what I told the boys during the Junior World Cup. And the same thinking stands now.

Will there be more responsibility on the senior players now to carry the juniors along and ease them off this pressure?

No, no, no. I don't define players as senior or junior. Those words don't exist in my team. Because the moment you play international hockey, it means that you have enough experience to represent the country. For me, if you have played 400 matches for India or you're playing for the first time, you're wearing the same India jersey, you're playing for the same team, you're playing to win, and you're playing a sport you love. So, that passion should be the same, whether you're representing India for the 400th time or the first.

Looking back, the Asian Champions Trophy was a decent campaign after the Asian Games disappointment, but the issue of applying finishing touches inside the circle still remains. How are you addressing it?

Yes. That's something we have to keep improving every match. We manage to get many shots on goal, but they need to be converted into goals. That's one thing we're focussing on, and I'm holding team meetings as well as individual meetings to address it. Now that the team is declared, the coaching staff will have a bigger job of defining the thin line of where players can score a goal and where they should pass the ball.

With no Rupinder Pal, Harmanpreet Singh becomes the leader of the dragflicking group, and converting penalty corners (PC) will be crucial, isn't it?

PCs are important for any team. And not only PC conversion, but also PC defending. I think we have some very talented people for that, we have (Amit) Rohidas, we have Varun (Kumar) and Harmanpreet, of course, who will be the leader of the pack now. The depth gives enough cushion to the team management to try out a few different direct as well as indirect combinations (for PC conversion).

Indian Squad

Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Bahadur Pathak; 

Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas; Midfielders: Manpreet Singh (C), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (VC), Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit; Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Simranjeet Singh

N Zone

6 No. of players in this World Cup team that were also part of India’s victorious Junior World Cup team in 2016 in Bhubaneswar: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Simranjeet Singh