Options in drag-flick hands India advantage over others in world hockey, says Sandeep Singh

The Birmingham Commonwealth Games-bound Indian team has as many as three specialist drag-flickers in Harmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar and Amit Rohidas. And with junior players like Sanjay, Araijeet Singh Hundal and Sudeep Chirmako waiting in the wings, India are well placed as far as the penalty-corner department is concerned. “Drag-flick is a difficult art that takes years of practice to master.

It is a very technical thing, where besides brute power, you need fast hands and quick bodyweight transfer,” said Sandeep. “Having options in drag-flick gives any team an advantage and we are lucky that we have many penalty-corner specialists in the team now. It adds variety.

Harmanpreet is a world-class flicker,” added Sandeep, who is nicknamed ‘Flicker Singh' for his exploits with the goal-scoring technique during his playing days. Sandeep, a fiery drag-flicker in his heydays, said the current national team under Manpreet Singh has the wherewithal to break its gold medal jinx at the Birmingham Games, starting next month. Since hockey's introduction in the CWG schedule in 1998 Kuala Lumpur edition, Australia has swept all the six gold medals.

India's best results are two silver medals in the 2010 edition at home and 2014 Games in Glasgow, Scotland. “Indian hockey has made tremendous progress. The bronze medal in Tokyo was just the fillip the game needed to revive its past glory,” Sandeep told PTI in an exclusive interaction from the Indian Sports Fan Award 2022, where newly-elected Rajya Sabha member and veteran sports promoter Kartikeya Sharma was honoured with the recognition.