My Diary 2024: Harmanpreet Singh – ‘We want to become mentality monsters, unafraid of any team or situation’ | Hockey News

As a hectic year of sports gallops to the finish line, India’s top athletes pause and reflect; tell the stories of their podium highs, battered bodies and shattered dreams. In a special series, some look back with fondness, a few others with regrets. But all with the hope – and wish – of a better 2025The biggest memory of 2024 for me is my daughter Ruhanat Kaur holding the Indian flag and cheering for the Indian hockey team in all our matches as well as during the podium ceremony at the Paris Olympics.
When I put the bronze medal around her neck after the medal ceremony, and she was standing with the Indian flag on the pitch, she not only represented our whole team but also every single fan of Indian hockey.
What we got for ourselves and the nation from Paris was not only the horic back-to-back medals at the Olympics after a gap of 52 years but the belief within us as well as every Indian fan that our team can win medals at every Olympics.
India skipper Harmanpreet Singh in action against Pakan. (Credit: Hockey India)
When we won the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, it was hory too and for the last three years, we carried that belief. While the Olympic gold remained elusive for us at Paris, each one of us went into the semi-finals against Germany believing that we could advance to the final and win the gold.
It hurt that the last-minute attempt did not convert into a goal. But every team gives and aims their 110-115 per cent at the Olympics and we are glad we did that. Till the last second, we had our chance for the draw and chances of going into the final.
The quarter-finals against Britain, when we were in a tough situation after the red card, (later my pictures and videos of me pointing towards my head went viral too) was about the mentality too.
The mentality that the Indian hockey team is here to give their best and win medals. Gold, silver or bronze, that depends on a lot of things but the mentality remains the same for us till the time we are playing.
Colombes: Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh at the end of the men’s hockey semi-final match between India and Germany at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Colombes, France, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. India lost the match. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary)
Our journey is in a way similar to the one that Belgium have undertaken.
In the last 8-10 years, Belgium have had a particular group of players that have played together. They had the right blend of seniors as well as youth and there was continuity. The biggest positive we see in them is their culture — throughout the year, there’s one or the other form of hockey going on there.
A team like Belgium is always in rhythm and that is what our team targets. I was talking to Belgium midfielder Victor Wegnez. He told me how they all were shocked after the loss against Spain in the quarterfinals but then they also understood how world hockey is at the moment. Yet, that team gave their best in the 10-year cycle and the Indian hockey team is following a similar process.
The biggest example of that is Sreejesh paji’s retirement. For the last decade, he was our pillar of strength. Now that he has retired, the baton passes to youngsters like Krishan Pathak. The same is the case of other young midfielders or strikers or defenders when seniors retire. The transition phase will have to be smooth; there has to be continuity.
India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh celebrates after scoring in the shoot-out during the men’s quarterfinal field hockey match against Britain at the Yves-du-Manoir Stadium during the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Colombes, France. (AP/PTI)
We want to continue playing with the same mentality — of being one of the world’s best. I’ll again give Sreejesh paji’s example.
When we were going to play the bronze medal match, I joked with him that see the match as the climax of your biopic, and end with another Olympic medal. He replied saying no team can snatch the medal from him! That’s the zone he was in — and we all have to be. We want to be mentality monsters, not be afraid of any team or situation.
We are on the right path for that.
Looking towards 2025, the target remains to make sure that we don’t repeat our makes and become better with every passing day. There is some work needed in terms of our finishing skills and in situations where there is a 50-50 chance of scoring a goal — top teams do that consently.
I am also looking towards the Hockey India League and captaining the Soorma Hockey Club. I was a junior at Ludhiana Academy when I used to watch Premier Hockey League matches in Chandigarh. Back then, I would dream about becoming a hockey star. The HIL will also do that for every junior player in India.
India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh celebrates after scoring a goal during the men’s hockey bronze medal match between India and Spain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, in Colombes, France, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (PTI Photo)
As far as the national team goes, preparing in a solid way for the 2026 World Cup remains the ultimate goal — that’s the one medal we haven’t won in decades and we wish to change that. 2025 will be all about laying the foundation for that, and it will in turn help us on our road to the LA Olympics.
– As told to Nitin Sharma
Looking forward to 2025
Apart from HIL at the start, the year 2025 will be one of the quietest international hockey has seen post-pandemic. With no big-ticket events scheduled, apart from the Asia Cup in Bihar which is a 2026 World Cup qualifier, Craig Fulton will hope to use the year to ensure a smooth transition in a few areas on the pitch. There will also be Pro League action for the senior team, to continue to test themselves at the top level. The year’s highlight would be the men’s junior World Cup at home in December and the women’s edition in Chile. This will be a true test for Indian hockey’s talent pool.
KEY DATES: Men’s Asia Cup, August 27 to September 7, Rajgir, Bihar

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