Although former Indian men’s hockey team captain Manpreet Singh has no immediate plans to retire, he is well aware that the Paris Games will be his fourth and final Olympics. Determined to give his best one last time at the world’s biggest sporting event, the 32-year-old star aims to leave a lasting mark.
“I am going to Paris thinking as if it is my last Olympics and I have to give my best. I haven’t thought about quitting the game yet and my complete focus is on the Paris Games,” the experienced midfielder said.
Manpreet led the Indian team to break a 41-year-old Olympic medal drought in Tokyo by securing the bronze medal. He was also part of the teams that won gold at the 2014 and 2022 Asian Games.
His journey from Mithapur village in Jalandhar to Paris has been far from smooth. He has battled poverty, false accusations, and his mother’s struggles to reach this point in his career.
After the Tokyo Olympics, Manpreet faced one of the toughest phases of his career when former coach Sjoerd Marijne accused him of asking a player to underperform so his friends could join the team during the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Both the men’s and women’s teams jointly denied these allegations, claiming Marijne made them to promote his book.
“That was the most difficult phase for me. I could never even think of such things. I was broken and lost faith in everyone. I told (PR) Sreejesh, with whom I share everything. My mother also encouraged me to keep playing to fulfil my father’s dream and my whole team supported me,” said Manpreet.
“In bad times, the support of the family and team is very important because at that time, the player finds himself very lonely. When the team stands together, it gives a lot of encouragement and also helps in making a comeback. We have also seen Hardik Pandya make a great comeback recently.”
Though Manpreet is no longer the captain, with Harmanpreet Singh now leading the team, he remains a key player as one of the senior-most members. Manpreet, who idolizes Pargat Singh, another Mithapur native, stated that their preparation for the Paris Games follows the same process as for Tokyo.
India faces a tough pool at the Paris Olympics, competing against Australia, Belgium, Argentina, New Zealand, and Ireland.
