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 today, 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 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.
Denne historien er fra January 04, 2025-utgaven av Hindustan Times Uttarakhand.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra January 04, 2025-utgaven av Hindustan Times Uttarakhand.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Tough questions for India after two debacles in a row
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.
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.
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
Fan, Ma Long out of tour events over row with ITTF
These are somewhat turbulent times in world table tennis.
Urban slump hits FMCG firms
Despite some pockets of resilience in rural markets and price hikes to combat inflation, India's consumer goods companies faced a challenging third quarter.
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.
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.
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.
Viral fear, growth blues stalk stock markets
Stocks fall 1.5%, fear index up 15%; key indicator signals weakness
