Prabhjot Singh celebrates India’s Asia Cup win in Chennai

Consistency is a virtue which gives your game respect and excellence, and characterises all champions across the sporting spectrum. It comes through days of perseverance and self-belief. Indian hockey, I must say now, has embraced this venerable quality.

From the bronze-winning show in May’s Azlan Shah Cup to the third-place finish in Boom, Belgium, next month, our progress speaks volumes of the consistency and, as a matter of fact, the Asia Cup triumph is a logical step towards that direction.

Given the fact that lack of consistency has remained our main bane, the victory in Chennai is an outstanding achievement, nay, the biggest in recent times. Over the years, we have showed that we were capable of winning matches but not tournaments. That’s precisely the reason I am drawing more satisfaction from this Asia Cup victory because we were committed to consistency on both counts — winning matches as well as the tournament. That too with some usual problems, most notable being the fact that we are yet to find a penalty corner specialist since Jugraj Singh’s injury.

Success in a team game is often defined by individual brilliance. Most importantly, personal shows didn’t override the team’s performance in Chennai, rather they co-existed throughout, leading to the remarkable success.

Seen from this perspective, goalkeeper Baljit Singh has impressed me a lot. He might be a relatively new face in the senior side, but was like a pillar of strength in Chennai. He has proved that he is capable of standing up to any PC specialist and justified his inclusion by being solid in the defence. Even in the final, he rose to the occasion, denying South Korea a number of chances and rightly earning the player of the tournament award.

Prabhjot Singh was another who surprised me in no small measure. Six-seven months back, he was out of the side and struggled with form. But ever since his return to the national fold, he has been a marvel for all of us. His metamorphosis has been accentuated by his renewed hunger for success and positive attitude to the game. India’s Asia Cup success owes a lot to Prabhjot’s guts and guile upfront.

Captain Prabodh Tirkey might prefer to maintain a low profile, but he is a pivot around whom midfield action essentially revolves. He sometimes looks unfashionable but his presence is undeniable in the field.

He stands for confidence and holds a perfect link between midfield and penetrative zone. Even a year ago, he had a serious spinal injury sparking fears that his career might be over. The way he has come back and rewritten his own fate is there for all to see and admire.

Then, there was, of course, Gurbuz Singh. When he made the cut for the Asian Games squad at the expense of Viren Rasquinha, I felt bad for the latter. I used to ask ‘why Viren?’ and had reservations about Gurbuz. But the midfielder has proved me wrong and is truly an asset to the team.

These individuals perfectly played their parts in harmony with the team’s overall cause, leading to the Asia Cup triumph in mind-boggling fashion. But excellence is not an act but a habit. We must keep this habit intact if we wish to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. This is a difficult task, but our efforts in Chennai have shown that Indian hockey is capable of pulling off a sensation.