From London heartbreak to 413 caps: The making of Manpreet Singh’s enduring legacy

As the Indian men’s hockey team faces Germany in their second match of the European leg of the Pro League in Rotterdam on Wednesday, they will certainly hope to register their first win of the campaign.More importantly, however, they will look to make it a special occasion for Manpreet Singh, who is set to become the most-capped player in Indian men’s hockey history with his 413th international appearance.The two-time Olympic bronze medallist made his international debut in Sept. 2011 at the Champions Trophy and, for nearly 15 years, has given his all for the country. Besides the two Olympic bronze medals, he has also amassed several other accolades during an illustrious career.

But along with the highs, Manpreet has also experienced some of Indian hockey’s lowest moments, including the disastrous 2012 London Olympics campaign, where India lost all five of their group-stage matches before going down in the 11th-12th classification match to finish last among the 12 teams. It remains the country’s worst-ever Olympic hockey performance.Since then, however, India have steadily risen in world hockey, and Manpreet has been an integral part of that journey.

In recent years, he has also adapted to playing much deeper, unlike the central role he used to have in his younger days, and it is a transition that has also impressed coach Craig Fulton.“You can have a look at how Manpreet is playing, like his level. I haven’t seen him move like this for a long time,” Fulton had said earlier this year. “From Paris (onwards) he had a really good tournament. Last year, it didn’t work for the team he was in, but he still performed well.”While one can’t speak enough of his contribution on the field, what has been remarkable about his career is that he has largely managed to stay away from major injuries. It was only before the Paris Olympics that a meniscus injury threatened to derail his plans of playing at a fourth consecutive Games.But he recovered in time to compete and not only made it to the team but also grabbed his second Olympic medal. And one big reason behind his ability to come back and stay relevant after all these years has been his fitness.He always gave special focus to it, and it helped him endure.“At one point, I felt that I had gotten slow, so I started to focus on my diet, analysed where I needed to work on in the gym and lost 6-7 kgs over 4-5 months,” Manpreet had said during the Hockey India League earlier this year.However, things seemed to go awry when he was dropped from the national camp earlier this year. While the official communication cited workload management and a planned rest period, reports suggested it was a disciplinary sanction.Whatever it was, he has put it all behind and is now ready to not only become the highest-capped Indian player but also chase the record for the most international appearances in hockey and, if possible, play at the Los Angeles Olympics.