ROURKELA: The moment the umpire blew his whistle, pointing both his index fingers towards the goal, the 10,000-strong crowd erupted in excitement at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium. The enthusiasm was for one sole reason: Soorma Hockey Club had been awarded a penalty corner (PC), meaning Harmanpreet Singh would be taking the drag-flick.
The crowd became louder as Harmanpreet Singh, who turns 29 on Monday, laid his sharp eyes on the pusher's stick, bending his back at the top of the D. In came the ball, swish went the flick and a lot of 'oohs!' as he missed the chance.
The three-time FIH Player of the Year is clearly the biggest name in Indian hockey at the moment, which was missing a star-like figure. With Harmanpreet emerging as the pre-eminent face of Indian hockey, that position is no longer vacant with thousands staying back after the match to get a glimpse of the two-time Olympic bronze medallist.
On a chilly Thursday evening, Harmanpreet was running a temperature, had a cough and cold but still turned out for the Hockey India League (HIL) contest against UP Rudras after popping a couple of pills.
It is the same devotion to the sport that made him the sixth hockey player to be chosen for India's highest sports honour, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, after Dhanraj Pillay, Sardar Singh, Rani Rampal, Manpreet Singh and PR Sreejesh.
Esta historia es de la edición January 04, 2025 de Hindustan Times Mumbai.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición January 04, 2025 de Hindustan Times Mumbai.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
No matter what I do, my son will always be my priority: Sania Mirza
Sania Mirza has been jetsetting since her appointment as an ambassador for Dubai's Sports Council in December. But her busy year didn't keep her from ringing in 2025 with her \"forever date\", her six-year-old son Izhaan Mirza Malik.
Love lockdown: OYO's new rule for unmarried couples sparks mixed reactions
On Sunday, the hotel booking platform OYO introduced a new policy that prohibits unmarried couples from checking into its partner hotels in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Tough questions for India after two debacles in a row
A second series loss raises more questions than answers as head coach's performance comes under the lens
Gambhir, Sharma face BCCI scrutiny
India have lost six of their last eight Tests; they were saved by the weather in Brisbane while the Perth Test win was the only bright spot.
Fan, Ma Long out of tour events over row with WTT
These are somewhat turbulent times in world table tennis.
How far are our leagues from introducing VAR?
Could take up to 18 months to implement it, says Trevor Kettle, federation's chief refereeing officer
NCLAT to hear Meta's plea against ₹213 cr fine on Jan 16
META ASKED NCLAT TO HEAR THE CASE URGENTLY, NOTING ITS IMPLICATIONS AND THE STAKES INVOLVED
India Eyes Private Capital For $107 Billion Grid Expansion
India is asking states to attract more private capital to accelerate the expansion of its power transmission network, part of a plan to revamp the country's grid and accommodate more clean power.
SC transfers CCI's e-commerce probe cases to K'taka HC
The Supreme Court on Monday centralised all petitions challenging the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) anti-trust probe against e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart to the Karnataka high court, while also urging the high court to decide the matter expeditiously.
Services activity rises to 4-month high in Dec
Growth in India's services activity, as measured by the Services Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI), rose to a four-month high of 59.3 in December, up from 58.4 in November, according to a release from S&P Global on Monday.
