Fit again and disciplined, Dilpreet seeks redemption

RAJGIR: Sjoerd Marijne, Harendra Singh, william franklin graham thomas reid and at present Craig robert fulton. No affair which coach took charge of the Indian men’s hockey team, striker Dilpreet Singh was always assured of a spot ever since his debut in 2018.

Possessing exceptional attacking and poaching skills, a teenaged Dilpreet had shown a lot of promise as he was touted as the next big thing in India’s forward line. The player from Punjab had a brilliant first year, helping India to a Champions Trophy silver, Asian Games bronze and Asian Champions Trophy title – all in 2018.

Three years later, he helped India end a 41-year medal drought at the Olympics when the team clinched bronze in Tokyo. He also played an important part in the quarter-final against Great Britain, scoring the opening goal to set up a 3-1 victory.

But somewhere down the line, the Arjuna awardee’s on-field discipline and fitness levels kept dipping, so much so that he was dropped from the squad in 2022. When Fulton took over from Reid in the middle of 2023, even the South African was unimpressed with Dilpreet’s fitness levels in the few matches he tried him.

“Commonwealth Games, World Cup, Asian Games, Olympics – I missed all the major events,” Dilpreet, 25, told HT, looking dejected. “It was very tough. Any player who has won an Olympic medal, his aim is to win a second. I wanted to perform at the Paris Olympics but wasn’t selected. That phase... There were many ups and downs.”

What made it worse for Dilpreet was that when he decided to put in the hours on the field and in the gym, he injured his hamstring and quadriceps in 2023. He ignored it assuming it was just a niggle, continuing to train with the same intensity, aggravating the injuries.

“If you have an injury, it takes time for any player to recover. I was in extreme pain. I was pushing myself in training and the injury increased. After that I had to rest for three months. And you know in such a physical sport like hockey, if you rest for that long you are bound to fall behind,” Dilpreet said.

When he returned to action in 2024 though Dilpreet put in the hard yards, running, working out in the gym, and trying his best to improve skills with the stick. Significantly, Dilpreet remained in the core group which was a huge benefit as he was able to train with India’s best at the national camps, playing in-house games with the likes of Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and Harmanpreet Singh. He also was disciplined, following the schedule India’s scientific advisor Alan Tan had set for him.

“Alan just told me to run. I used to basically just run and run after my sessions, unlike the others. I used to run on my rest days. There were long spells mixed with sprints, something that we do during Yo-Yo tests. He supported me a lot,” added Dilpreet, who hails from Butala village near Amritsar.

“Even when I was unfit, the coach (Fulton) supported me. He told me that I was a good player but I had a problem with fitness and had to work on it. My teammates backed and motivated me. When I’d return home for breaks, I would not stop training. I was handed a schedule by Alan which I followed.”

After sweating it out for months, Dilpreet returned to the team in February for India’s Pro League campaign, playing 11 of the 16 matches. Impressed with his showing, the selection panel chose him for the Asia Cup over prominent forwards and double Olympic bronze medallists, Shamsher Singh and Gurjant Singh.

“Even now, I try to improve my fitness day-by-day. This sport is such that only fit players can play at the highest level. Now, everything is fine. My fitness has improved immensely. In the Yo-Yo test, my score now normally ranges between 21.1 and 21.4. It had dropped below 20 earlier (highest is 23.8),” said Dilpreet, who has 103 India caps.

Dilpreet is now keen to take India forward in the Asia Cup. The hosts next face defending champions South Korea in the Super 4s on Wednesday.

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