Although the captain of Indian Hockey team "Sardar Sing" is a debatable topic from past few months. Being the oldest player in the team he has been accused of slowing down the pace of the game. As a surprising act, he has replaced PR Sreejesh as the captain of Indian hopes for the Olympics.
But his performances in Kuantan should silence his critics, at least for now. Sardar was having a mediocre tournament until the semifinal against South Korea, where he turned back the clock. India was trailing a defensive South Korea by a goal with just five minutes remaining. Sardar collected the ball on the goal-line right flank, and instead of drilling is across, he embarked on one of his trademark runs. He dribbled past four Korean defenders before passing it to Ramandeep Singh, who simply had to tap the ball in.
“We needed something special in that contest and it was provided by Sardar. He created a brilliant goal, that’s what he is in the team for,” Oltmans said.
India’s recent ascent has coincided with a collective dip in standards across Asia for varying reasons. South Korea, under Paul Lissek, perennially seems to be in a rebuilding phase while Pakistan has a whole set of issues – from finance to discipline.
When India appeared in the Asian Champions Trophy they were the team to beat but going above the expectations and beating the crowd critics they have shown the phenomenal game and in the final thrashing Pakistan they have won the trophy for the second time.
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