Harendra Singh: Ekalavya Who Became Dronacharya

Harendra Singh is a humble student of the game who became one of its finest teachers.

The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and Paradise Lost, to name a few, are some epics in English Literature. In Indian nativity and India’s Sanskrit, Ramayana and Mahabharata are two such. The Mahabharata elucidates the struggle between cousin groups in the Kurukshetra War and the providence of Kaurava and the Pandava princes and their respective descendants.

Ekalavya in ‘The Mahabharata’ is considered a foremost king and is known as a very powerful archer and warrior. ‘Dronacharya’ in the same ‘Mahabharata’, is known for his renowned tutelage and mentorship. He is the ‘teacher’ and ‘guru’ of ‘The Kauravas and the ‘Pandavas’. He is recognized and celebrated for his very high virtues and principles.

One such eminent and important ‘Guru’ in Indian Hockey is Dr. Harendra Singh. A self-made coach, a knowledgeable man, and above all, a very compassionate human being. Harendra Singh is Indian hockey’s well-versed and well-revered representative as a player and coach. He is no less than a household name.

A member of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 1990 Asian games, Harendra Singh hails from the East Indian town of Chhapra in the state of Bihar. In 1988, he joined the Mahindra & Mahindra team in Mumbai on the advice of former India coach Joaquim Carvalho and later represented Air India in domestic hockey. Forty-three international outings in the Indian national jersey later, Harendra Singh announced retirement at the very unfortunate age of 26.

Harendra Singh believes in training on the basis of a player’s individual ability by focusing on his/her strengths and weaknesses. When asked about the strategies/aspects of his training and how he would develop an athlete, he said, “My idea of training is based on players’ ability, analyzing the player’s strengths and weaknesses, their behavior, ability response, decision making, and analyzing opponents as an individual and as a team strategy based upon their strengths. These are factors that are taken into account to make a training module. Basic skills are the core value for any player, and my nucleus is on developing a strong basic skill to execute the planned strategy. If the basics are not resilient, a coach can’t execute the team strategy at any given time.”

For any individual, there can be no greater dignity and honour than representing his/her own country in their chosen sport – as a player or a coach. When asked about his memorable and cherishable moments in an Indian shirt. Harry says, “As a player, unfortunately, I don’t have momentous wins to recollect, especially since I knew we could have achieved better. I experienced how our coaches failed to make a game plan at that time, it was only “Jor Laga Ke Khelna” Desh ke liye Dhelna” {which every soldier and player knows}. At the most, their planning included marking their best players with designated responsibilities.”

Long story short, Harendra Singh, to me personally, is a humble student of the game who became one of its finest teachers. TSC’s Ravi Mandapaka caught up recently with Dr. Harendra Singh, a Dronacharya Awardee, a former head coach of India’s men’s, women’s, and junior teams, and the current head coach of the United States men’s national field hockey team.

Ravi: Firstly, thank you for giving your valuable time to The Sports Column. Let’s begin by having you tell us about your background and what brought you into field hockey. 

Harendra Singh (photo courtesy Olympics)

Harendra Singh: I was born in Chhapra (Saran), Bihar, and was brought up in a lower-middle-class family. My father is an ex-serviceman, and after retiring from the army, he took a job at Imperial Hotel, New Delhi as a telephone operator. In the late ’70s and ’80s, he earned a measly wage of Rs. 240 per month. My brothers and I arrived in Delhi in 1974. I was a bright and amiable student to join the defense forces and serve the nation. With great ambition in mind, I tried for the Air Force and sat for the NDA exam, but unfortunately, I was not selected. It was around this time that I developed a taste for sports and was actively playing Cricket and Football, which led to my selection to play in the Havelock Square Cricket Club. I was an opening batsman and fast bowler, and a stopper for my soccer club. My school was known as a hockey hub for Delhi schools. It produced notable alumni players like Olympian Vineet Kumar, artistic center half Jaspal Katoch, DS Negi {International player}, Naveen Raizada, Sri Prakash, Current Delhi Hockey General Secretary Mahesh Dayal, and many more who were subsequently represented in Delhi School and Delhi state, are products of Union Academy School. I was more inclined towards playing Cricket and Soccer, but the 1982 Asian Games final match defeat {7-1} against Pakistan in the Iconic Dhyan Chand National Hockey Stadium resurrected my interest in hockey. I vowed to represent my country and get back for this defeat. Mr. Zafar Iqbal, late Mohd. Shahid and the late Surjit Singh were my idols.

The first stick I bought was from Pandit Sports in Gol-Market for Rs. 13.65. Talkatora Indoor Stadium and park was our hub for hockey training, especially during the night. My early mentors and guidance counselors include Rajni Kant, Suresh Karketa, Naresh Bhai Saheb, and Mahesh Bhai. When I started thinking of leaving my imprint in Hockey, my selection in 1983 for Nehru Summer camp aided this and was a turning point in my career. I studied at Kirori Mal College and later Khalsa College, which, both institutions were supportive to enhance my career. Right from my school days till I joined Mahindra & Mahindra, my best friend Naveen Raizada looked after my hockey expenses and my dietary requirements by ensuring my meals were well taken care of at his place. Naveen was a solid pillar and support for my hockey career. He was a good Goalkeeper. I got selected by Junior Combined Universities to play junior national at Imphal and was selected for Junior World Cup {Vancouver, Canada} in core problems.

After being represented in Combined Universities, Delhi state, and senior and junior national championships, I became a household name in northern India as a penalty corner expert. Olympian and Arjun Awardee Joaquim Carvalho saw me playing in Coorg and approached me to come to Bombay {Mumbai} to play for M&M (Mahindra & Mahindra), which was one of the best teams, in the domestic circuit, at that time. MM Somaiya, Joaquim Carvalho, Gomes, Codo, John Fernandes, Wilber Rodriques, Ian Ferreira, Reginald Ferreira, and Nitin Ullal were a part of the M&M team and were recognized as a formidable combination. My best friend and I, legendary Dhanraj Pillay, joined M&M in 1988 and played in almost all domestic tournaments. Under Joaquim Carvalho’s coaching, we were both polished and understood the requirements of modern hockey.

In 1989, at the Gwalior Nationals, I made my mark by scoring 13 goals in the national championship. Mumbai won the National Championship that year after 40 long years. I was selected for the Senior India core probable group and never looked back.

Ravi: There’s always a talk about being fit as an athlete and being match-fit. How big an area of concern was that when you started playing the game? Who were the biggest inspirations for your career? 

Photo courtesy This Week

Harendra Singh: In the old days, I don’t think any of the coaches understood what it meant to be match-fit. Our regime of training was like a marathon runner, there was no such philosophy called periodization or the focal point on “what is a requirement of modern hockey”, etc. The Player’s injury was frequent due to the wrong training module adopted by the coaches. After the introduction of Astroturf, our coaches were zapped, unable to fathom the requirements of Modern Hockey. Our players were training with the same mindset and were expected to execute performances that were beyond their limits. When I joined FC Lyon, Mr. Tony Fernandes was our coach, and I realized how we severely lacked in our player training programs while not adopting the coaching technology of modern hockey. Uncle Tony Fernandes was a huge inspiration for my hockey career; he taught me all about modern hockey. He is not only the best human being but the best guru who focuses on the overall development of an athlete, both on the field and off the field. His values have been imbibed in my veins, and I owe my soft skill learning to him as well. He played a huge role in my career enhancement.

Ravi: Representing India is something special for any player. It must have been for you, too. What were some of your memorable wins on the hockey pitch?

Harendra Singh: As a player, unfortunately, I don’t have momentous wins to recollect, especially since I knew we could have achieved better. I experienced how our coaches failed to make a game plan at that time, it was only “Jor Laga Ke Khelna” Desh ke liye Dhelna” {which every soldier and player knows}. At the most, their planning included marking their best players with designated responsibilities.

Ravi: You retired very young, at the age of 26, and took up coaching as back in 1995 at HC Lyon. How did that transformation happen from a player to a coach? 

Harendra Singh: It was just luck, I also got married at a very early age, and my wife is from Mumbai. Dhanraj Pillay is more like an integral part of my in-law’s family and me. He, Jude Felix, and Shakil Ahmed used to play for HC Lyon. In 1995, Dhan and I went to see Uncle Tony in his Bandra House, {he was leaving for Lyon that day}, and during our talks, he asked about Rahul Singh joining HC Lyon. Due to the clash with the national camp, Rahul Singh, an Olympian, could not join HC Lyon. Dhan suggested trying me as one of the defenders for the club.

After a few days, I received a call from Dhan informing me that Uncle Tony was keen to have me on the team. I was ecstatic. While playing for HC Lyon, I used to watch football vigorously and observe their coaches. During our hockey training, Uncle Tony used to take hours to explain the requirements of modern hockey and decision-making. That’s when I decided to become a hockey coach and start coaching the U-12|U14 HC Lyon team.

Ravi: Were there any gaps between coaching and fitness training standards in India and other countries?

Harendra Singh: There was an astronomical gap between the top teams in the world and how we used to train back home in terms of fitness. The best team in the world followed science and provided the details of every fitness training module individually and as a team, session and regime. Whereas those days back in India, there was not a single point where players used to receive any communication from coaches about why we are doing this fitness training and what its objective was, etc. We were blindly following the coach without raising any questions.

Photo courtesy New India Express

Indian coaches were selected based on their experience as a player, whereas in Western countries, coaches had to prepare rigorously to pass the assessment criteria laid down by the national body. In India, once players joined the national camp, they understand the coaching mythology like physiology, Bio-Mechanics, phycology, periodization, loading, injuries prevention methods, Physiotherapist, Strength & conditioning, Mental health or mental well-being, Exercise Science, Sport Management and Coaching. An additional purpose is to provide all players with opportunities to develop physical, social, intellectual, emotional, environmental, and spiritual health.

Nutritionist, Anatomy, Biokinetics, said “The main focus of sports science is to understand the relationship between exercise and the human body, from a cellular level through to the impact on the body as a whole. Neurophysiology – understanding the nervous system and how it functions.” In developed countries, these are part of high-performance coaching; any coach cannot take up the coaching assignment till he studies partly of these sports’ sciences.

After 2009, I think the Indian Hockey team has taken a huge step in terms of fitness, and the credit goes to every coach from Brasa, Nobbs, Terry Walsh, Oltmans, and now Graham Reid. The most important factor is the continuity of two world’s best S&C coaches, Wayne Lombard and Robin Arkell, South Africans who both worked hard with men’s & women’s teams. Credit goes equally to Sports Authority of India, Govt of India, and Hockey India for providing all resources which made this team a super fit for the best in the world.

Cody of the 2016 Junior World Cup Team S&C coach, Cody Tribe, equally played an excellent role in shaping junior players as per international fitness requirements. In India, Dr. Saju Joseph and Dr. Pradeep Dutta are the best in the business. I think having a good physio with the team is equally important, and I am fortunate that we used to have one of the best physiotherapists in India, Shrikant Iyengar, right from 2008 to the 2016 Junior World cup, who help most of these players to be ready for any mega events, he is the best in the business and is thoroughly professional in his job.

I think other countries’ fitness regimes follow right from U-14 because their system is such that every player follows the same system or training module right from U-10 to the national team. Their club system is so strong; they follow the fitness and technical skill module as per the National body blueprint.

Ravi: You took various coaching and managerial roles of national junior and senior teams in tournaments such as the 2000 Summer Olympics, the 2005 Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup, the 2006 Men’s Hockey World Cup, the 2006 Asian Games, the 2009 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup and 2010 Men’s Hockey World Cup, etc. You were also head coach of the India women’s national field hockey team that won the gold medal at the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup. 

Can you tell us about your experiences as a coach and your favorite moments with our national men’s and women’s teams?

Photo courtesy DNA India

Harendra Singh: I think without hockey, and particularly without coaching, I can’t live, or I can’t live without coaching. I enjoyed every moment of my coaching, whether I coached the junior team, senior team, women’s team, or clubs. Of course, there are special moments like the Sydney Olympics, the 2005 junior WC, Rotterdam Jr World Cup 2016, the Women’s Asia Cup, and the 2018 World Cup. But I enjoyed coaching the junior team, and the most satisfying moment was coaching the Women’s team. It was a regrettable decision for me and HI to switch over from women’s to men coaching. I made a special bonding with these girls like the 2016 Junior WC players, I was sure to make it into the semi of the Women’s World Cup final in the same year, 2018, in London. I still hold and cherish the best of my coaching with the 2016 {Jr WC} and with the Women’s team. There was a lack of self-belief in these girls, a lack of fitness with a defensive mindset, which after taking over, I broke and made them realize they are the best unit in the world. There was no structure of playing, which for me was bizarre; I made them understand how integral it is to play with a well-defined structure. Their fitness was below average, and when I was switched to the team, they were on par with the best in the world. Thanks to Wayne, Sonika our physiotherapist and their support.

Right now, my entire focus is on USA Men’s hockey and making this team one of the most formidable in the world. I am enjoying every moment with this team, In the future, no one knows, so maybe with a satisfying tenure over here, I would love to coach our women’s team again, as they have so much potential to win the medal on a world stage. Taking over as a women’s head coach was a decision credited to Sh. Baldev Singh Ji, Dronacharya Awardee, and my daughter who always insists I take the women’s team and make them champions.

Ravi: We cried with you so badly in Sydney in 2000. Can you tell us about that experience and how a certain Dhanraj Pillay was unstoppable that night in his tears? 

Harendra Singh: I think we both cry even today whenever we discuss Sydney’s last pool game against Poland. The Indian team was very close to the medal, like Los Angeles, but I think we didn’t play the way we played the rest of the matches in the pool. It was raining, and the ball was not moving, one mistake by one of the great wing forwards threw us out of a medal. After Poland’s equalizer and 90 seconds left, we still got two chances, but due to pressure, the strikers didn’t function as a give-n-go in front of an open goal.

The moment the match got over, Dhanraj set on the goalpost and wept. I, too, was disheartened, and so was the entire team. At the Olympic village in his room, Dhan was overcome with grief and refused to eat anything for two days. For us, it was symbolic and felt like we lost the war at the border. For me, that was the darkest moment in my coaching career. Dhan still can’t hold his tears if you talk about Sydney.

Ravi: Can you tell us about the support you received from your family members back home? Especially during the toughest times as a player and coach away from home? 

Photo courtesy SportsCafe

Harendra Singh: My family sacrificed heftily right from my player days. After marriage, my wife and daughter sacrifice the most. My wife even sold her jewelry to run the house or meet the demand of my children’s school fees. She never used to tell me how she is running the house; I hardly celebrated my daughter’s and son’s birthdays or celebrated our wedding anniversary. I think people think once you are appointed as national coach, you may have a good time and better life. The truth is far from that, most coaches and players suffer the most due to being away from their families. I have seen how hard my wife used to work to meet my children’s daily requirements and, at the same time to fulfill the social obligation of society.

Ravi: Aga Khan Cup and Beighton Cup remain India’s oldest and most important domestic tournaments. Can you tell us about your experiences and, if comfortable, about the right knee injury during the semifinals of the Aga Khan Gold Cup in Mumbai in 1995?

Harendra: India has the oldest tournament in the world, like the Beighton cup, Aga Khan, Nehru Cup, etc. These tournaments used to backbone of Indian Hockey, it is important to make these tournaments again an essence of Indian Hockey. The Aga Khan episode was the darkest chapter of Indian Sports, and I don’t like to discuss it in the public domain because it does not give a good test to any youngster to pick hockey if anyone can see the video.

Ravi: How do you see hockey evolving in your state and our country? How was the support system, and what kind of support (technically, emotionally, and financially) did you receive from Bihar state and the Indian Hockey Federation? 

Harendra Singh: Nowadays, I think hockey is better placed if we compare it with the old hockey days. The lifestyle of hockey players changed after taking over of Mr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, he introduces professionalism and a system in hockey, but unfortunately, none of the states barring Odisha, and Haryana, show any sign of indulging in or promoting sports enough to uplift the sportsman’s life by providing best infrastructure among all sports. Mr. Batra introduced the high-profile Hockey India League, which gave hockey players financial stability and capacitated them to showcase their skills on a bigger platform which subsequently helped the Indian team and players. He also brought discipline among the players, which is equally important to achieve the desired result.

Any sportsman never plays for monetary benefit, he or she just wants to serve the country and win the medal, financial remuneration is last in their mind, and I am not out of this thought. Of course, financial assistance is needed to help players and coaches as motivational elements. I never thought in this line, but that also true that I never received any recognition from any government body for my achievements. I have always been denied my due, but no, I have no regrets. The hockey players of India are my biggest achievement.

After India won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, almost every player called me in the USA and thanked me, and they said this medal belongs to you, sir. That’s my achievement. Money can’t buy the satisfaction that you see on these players’ faces. I never received any support from any government except SAI and later Hockey India after 2014. Emotionally, it’s hard when you can see the other states showering accolades and gratitude for their coaches and players. I always used to dangle between no man’s land, yet I ask myself which state I belong to. Earlier in my coaching career, Dhan and Ashley Fernandes used to pay my FIH fee; I have paid from my pocket to buy all electronic gadgets to keep my- self updated….. After 2009 HI and SAI support us with all these gadgets which are required for modern sports. To date, I never received any kind of remuneration from any state barring Central Govt or HI.

Ravi: Unfortunately, many Indian players hide/fake injuries and either ruin their careers or bring a detrimental name to the federation. You must have surely come across many talented athletes who went the wrong way. Can you tell us about your views on this and players who lost their valuable careers? How do you see this in the present-day hockey culture?

Harendra Singh: I think it depends on what you achieve and what your target is. Sometimes players hide their injuries because of a lack of trust among players, coaches, and federations. If this kind of thing is taken care of by coaches and the Injuries management team, it provides confidence to players that once they fully recover in rehab or are fit, they will get a chance to represent the country or team. Transparency is key, I think partially, these things now do not exist anymore in the Indian team, I can vouch for incidents where I spoke to players and gave them confidence about their return to the Indian team post-rehabilitation.

It also depends on who is your medical staff, especially the physio. I remember when Shrikant Iyengar was our Senior Team physio, most of the players never used to hide their injuries because they knew they were in the best hands, and he would again put me on the pitch. This mutual trust among players, coaches, and medical staff is essential to keep a functional, high-performing team.

Ravi: Can you briefly tell us about how things are going for you as the coach of the USA hockey team? What are your targets and goals in the days ahead?

Harendra Singh: Presently, we are working hard to get the best result in the PANAM Games, which is the qualification for the Paris Olympics. At the same time, I am also focusing on the development of grassroots hockey in a different pocket of the USA. Our main target is qualifying for Paris and improving the World Ranking, and qualifying for the next Junior World Cup. The kind of support I am receiving from USA Field hockey officials and particularly CEO Simon Hoskins and President Ms. Cathy Bessant is amazing.

Ravi: What is your philosophy in sports and life?

Ravi: How would you encourage and preach good sportsmanship?

Harendra Singh: I don’t preach, I always make it a point that I am doing the right thing for sports and my team, so they can take a lead from it and make life beautiful. Sportsmanship also teaches us how to help each other in difficult times, be humble, have empathy, etc.

Ravi: Lastly, what message would you give to the modern-day players and coaches about ethics and character?

Harendra Singh: There is no shortcut in sports, deal with ups and downs because we never fail, we always learn after any losses, and use the max tool to enhance your and your team members’ knowledge. Be aware of what is happening around the world, particularly in sports, and what changes we expect in the future in sports. Be resilient and never say NO or give up. There is always a word called Possible because if it is IMPOSSIBLE, it means I am Possible.

“Jai Hind”