Avik Roy
Bhubaneswar, May 11: After receiving the prestigious Arjuna Award in 2012, Indian hockey captain, Sardar Singh is at the doorstep of adding another feather to his cap after being recommended by Hockey India (HI) for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
When asked about his nomination, Sardar, who was in the city to captain the side for a Test series against Japan said before his departure Sunday, “I want to thank HI for recommending my name. Obviously I am very happy. But I don’t want to focus on that only. My job is to play hockey and earn maximum glory for my country. So I will keep striving to do that.”
The Indian skipper however was quick to point out that national awards motivate a player to do well. “I think players get extra confidence if they receive this kind of awards. The more recognition they get, the better they perform,” stated the 29-year-old.
Sardar also lauded his teammates for the series victory over Japan. “The Japan Test series was a nice experience for us. We tried some young players and they came good. We are trying to improve our skills because we have a new coach, so he wants to implement new techniques and we are trying to follow that,” informed Sardar.
Coverting penalty corners have been a worry for India and Sardar was quick to admit that. “Penalty corners are an important part of the game as it can change the final outcome and with some specialist drag-flickers like Birendra Lakra, (VR) Raghunath and Rupinder Pal Singh, we are trying to improve on this,” Sardar signed off.
