Picture Credit: Hockey India
Arriving in Buenos Aires, Argentina on late Thursday evening, India's experienced defender and dragflicker Rupinder Pal Singh was not only excited but he also felt a sense of relief. After all, this was his first overseas tour since 2019 when India travelled to Belgium. While he was part of India's FIH Hockey Pro League matches in Bhubaneswar, Rupinder missed out on India's tour to Europe in February this year due to injury.
"I am super excited to play against the Olympic Champions. It's been a very long break from competitive hockey. My last overseas tour was in September 2019 when we played in Antwerp, Belgium," he recalled.
"It was unfortunate that I missed India's previous tour to Europe. I had worked really hard and was looking forward to playing against Germany and Great Britain, but I injured my hamstring one week before the team left. It was very disappointing for me personally," expressed Rupinder.
During the FIH Hockey Pro League matches last year, Rupinder contributed to the team's campaign with a total of five goals from six FIH Hockey Pro League matches played in early 2020. During the current tour of Argentina, Rupinder will be vying to find his old form. "I was in good nick last year. Now against Argentina, it will be all about finding that rhythm back. It is important to play simple hockey, as Chief Coach Graham Reid always says and not do anything too dramatic. Focus will be on basic skills, strong defence, good on-field communication and coordination with each other," explained Rupinder.
On asked about playing in a bio-bubble and traveling in these circumstances with the ongoing fight against the pandemic, Rupinder said, "We are very used to being in a bio-bubble and understand the protocols very well. As for the travel, we are very grateful to Hockey India and Sports Authority of India for planning the journey in such a way that we don't feel any strain. We were all provided with rooms in the airport in Paris where we had a 13 hours layover. This particularly helped us rest and recover. In the airports too, we were very careful about social distancing and always have our masks on. These measures are necessary to ensure our safety and now we are just waiting to get on with the matches."
India will play their first practice match against Olympic Champions Argentina on Tuesday, 6 April 2021 at 2030 hours IST. The Indian team is scheduled to play six matches during the 16-day tour including back-to-back FIH Hockey Pro league matches on 11th and 12th April 2021.