Sardar Singh: This Young India Side Can Stay Competitive for Six or Seven Years, If They Learn From the World Cup
Sardar Singh has seen enough Indian rebuilds to know the difference between a good month and a good generation. His verdict on this one is clear: the young players in the current side have six or seven years in them at the top, if they learn the right lessons from the World Cup.
“The World Cup was also a tournament where our team performed very well, but there were small mistakes that we need to learn from,” Sardar told myKhel. “We have quite a few young players in the team whose future lies ahead of them for the next six to seven years. They need to learn from these experiences.”
The context is hard to argue with. India took criticism after a below-par World Cup in Belgium and the Netherlands, then answered it the best way possible: an unbeaten run to Asian Games gold in Aichi-Nagoya, and with it direct qualification for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. Sardar’s point is that the turnaround shouldn’t paper over what went wrong.
“We have two years in which we can work properly on the mistakes we made recently, including at the World Cup,” he said. “We need to focus on the upcoming tournaments and practice matches.”
He also had a word for the debate around head coach Craig Fulton, and it’s the kind of answer only a former captain gives. “All coaches have different styles. Some are attacking-minded, while others focus on defence. The players have to adopt the coach’s strategy and play accordingly,” he said.
And on what makes a team work: “Whether with the ball or without it, they have specific tasks to perform, along with the technical and tactical aspects of hockey. The most important thing is how you look at your individual role. If we are individually strong in our respective roles, building a team becomes that much easier.”
The women’s gold was no fluke. Sardar was just as direct about the women’s team, whose Asian Games gold ended a 44-year wait. India finished fourth in Tokyo, then failed to qualify for Paris 2024. This time they won the whole thing and booked their own LA28 ticket. “It was not a fluke,” he said. “Their consistency was very good. They focused on ball possession and the strategies given by the coaches for all 60 minutes, and they got the result.”
He put it down to years of grind rather than one hot month: “The entire credit goes to the team, which has continued to work hard over the last three to four years while staying in camps. We know what a sportsperson’s life is like, discipline and sacrifice. They have received the results of that hard work.”
Take the game to every state. The other thing Sardar kept coming back to was where hockey gets played. He wants international tournaments spread across states, not parked in the same few cities. Punjab hosting the Asian Champions Trophy after a long gap, he said, is exactly the kind of opportunity that inspires kids who dream of playing for India. “Such tournaments are very important in every state,” he said. “When you watch a match live, there is a lot of difference compared to watching it on TV. When you see good players and quality matches up close, you can adopt many things that help improve your game.”
He’s putting the same belief into practice in Chhattisgarh, where he’s working as a coach in the state-backed league running in Raipur right now. “I want to thank the Chhattisgarh government for taking this initiative. It is a matter of pride for me to be part of this league, and it provides a very good platform for Chhattisgarh’s players,” he said. His hope is simple and, for our money, spot on: give players infrastructure, coaching and matches that look like modern hockey, and players from states that rarely produce internationals will start coming through. “Players from Chhattisgarh and other states will emerge in the coming years and represent the country.”
Six or seven years is a long time in hockey. Sardar’s argument is that India have the players for it. The next two years decide whether they also have the lessons.
Related links:
https://sportscursor.com/asian-champions-trophy-2026-four-india-seniors-final-appearance-26-october-2026/
https://sportscursor.com/india-13-0-bangladesh-mandeep-hat-trick-asian-champions-trophy-27-october-2026/
https://sportscursor.com/chhattisgarh-hockey-league-night-6-knights-champions-royals-strikers-27-october-2026/
https://sportscursor.com/live/
