Hockey India has maybe spotted something else which not many others could see, since Sardar Singh hung up his hockey stick towards the end of 2018. The mercurial playmaker, who also led the Indian team during his 314-caps-long career spread across 12 years, received a call from Hockey India a couple of weeks ago. The next thing the hockey world knew was that Sardar was appointed as the coach of the India 'A' men's team. The concept of an 'A' team is not a usual one in Indian hockey. It's a seemingly forced decision, necessitated due to the close proximity of the Commonwealth Games (July 28 to August 8) and the Asian Games (September 10 to 25) later this year. Because the Asian Games carry the greater significance as an Olympic qualifier, the federation decided to send an 'A' team to the Games in Birmingham and not risk any of its main-team players. The gold medal-winning team at the Asian Games qualifies for the Olympics as the continental champion. But the concept of India 'A' carried a lot of requirements, including finding a coach. Sardar, who also serves as a DSP with Haryana Police, has been entrusted with that responsibility, and some of the just-retired senior players, including Tokyo Olympics bronze medallists Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra, have reversed their decisions and returned to be among the list of India 'A' probables.
