Simranjeet Singh has recently made a comeback in the Indian men’s hockey team national camp after recovering from an injury sustained against Pakistan during the Asia Cup in Jakarta in 2022. It forced him to miss the FIH World Cup in Bhubaneswar-Rurkela in January.
He now has his eyes fixed on securing his place in the Indian team. “I want to get selected in the team for the remaining season of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023, and play Asian Games, which is crucial to earning a direct qualification to Paris Olympics.”
The 26-year-old, a member of India’s bronze medal winning team at the Tokyo Olympics, is currently in Bengaluru as part of the 39-member core group training at the SAI centre. The national camp will be followed by a final team selection and tour of Europe, where India will play Belgium, Great Britain, Netherlands, and Argentina in the remaining season of the FIH Hockey Pro League 2022-2023.
“I am super happy to return to the National Coaching Camp after struggling with injuries for quite some time,” Simranjeet said, before adding, “It was disheartening for me to miss the World Cup.”
Simranjit drew inspiration from Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr during his recovery period. “In sports, players can suffer injuries at any given moment but it depends on them how they deal with it and make a comeback. For me, Neymar served as an inspiration as despite getting injured numerous times, the Brazilian footballer has always made a strong comeback. Likewise, I also focused on regaining full fitness, did all the necessary things to make a comeback and most importantly, I never gave up,” he said.
“Moreover, I will focus on making it to the squad for the Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be played later this year. The tournament is crucial for us as it will give us an opportunity to directly qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics and also assert our dominance in Asia,” the attacking midfielder added.
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