An all-time great who has played for two different countries with great success -, Gonzalo Peillat. A rising Indian star, always rated highly for his talent but with question marks over his consistency – Jugraj Singh. A 20-year-old born not far away from the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela, looking to make a name for himself on the big stage – Amandeep Lakra. And a New Zealander who has scored just 41% of his international goals from Penalty Corners – Sam Lane.
A variety of four men stepped into the final at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela in front of 20,000-odd fans and put on a brilliant show of drag flicking in a thrilling conclusion to the men’s Hockey India League. Seven goals were scored, and all seven from penalty corner situations as Sharchi Rarh Bengal Tigers prevailed 4-3 against Hyderabad Toofans to be crowned champions.
Jugraj, hat-trick hero
The headline, in the end, belonged to Jugraj who scored a stunning hat-trick, with his powerful low flicks (25’, 32’, 35’). For Toofans, the legendary Peillat stepped up on the big night (9′, 39′) while his understudy Amandeep once more delivered with his wristy flick (26′). Finally, it was Lane (54’) who scored the match-winning goal.
“This was Jugi’s Olympics,” India head coach Craig Fulton told the media after the finale. “He had a fantastic tournament. Harmanpreet Singh has done it for us at the biggest tournaments, and the beautiful thing is that an in-form Jugi is good news for India.”
Jugraj was among the reserves at the Olympics and at the World Cup.
Jugraj, who sold Tricolour flags and water bottles to tourists at the Attari-Wagah border as a kid in a bid to help his family make ends meet, finished the tournament as the leading goalscorer with 12 PC goals to his name, overtaking Dutch superstar Thierry Brinkman (10 field goals) on the last night with his hat-trick. Considered to have one of the speediest flicks in the game, Jugraj’s talent from the short corners was never in doubt but throughout the HIL, with able mentorship from Tigers’ captain and former India star Rupinder Pal Singh, he stepped up his game. The 28-year-old married sheer pace with improved accuracy and sounded the board by repeatedly flicking close to the turf.
“Sometimes he flicks it well, and the runner does a good job,” Tigers’ head coach Batch had told The Indian Express before the semifinals. “We’ve got confidence that he can get past the runner. Defensive corners are challenging because of good goalkeepers and first runners. That’s why I prefer to see players flicking low. Young drag flickers often try high flicks, and if they’re not perfect, it’s easy for goalkeepers.”
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Jugraj Singh celebrates after scoring a goal during the Hockey India League. (PHOTO: HIL)
It’s something Jugraj aced from both batteries. His first of the night, lining up in the first battery, was hit to the right of Dominic Dixon. It was when the Tigers were trailing 1-2 at the start of the second half, came Jugraj’s most significant contributions of the tournament. In the space of three minutes, he beat the Toofans’s PC defence twice – going to the right of Bikramjit Singh first and then to his left… showing a fabulous understanding of the angles. Toofans’ coach Pasha Gademan later rued the fact that his team’s Penalty Corner defence wasn’t as good as it had been in the rest of the tournament but with Jugraj in such scintillating form, it was a tough gig.
“I am really happy tonight, to do this in front of such a big crowd and be the tournament’s leading scorer,” Jugraj said. “I had a lot of support from Rupinder paaji, he supported me on the occasions I missed PCs. He is a legend, and I have asked him a lot of questions. The rushers are so good in modern hockey, so to flick low is something I have practised a lot for. I have been watching videos of Alexander Hendrickx but of course, a lot of our captain Harmanpreet Singh too to get better.
With the match tied up 3-3, with six goals from six predictable exponents of drag flicks, the match-winner came from an unexpected source. In a late-night press conference after the Tigers’ semifinal win, captain Rupinder made a special mention for one of his teammates. “I am really happy for Sam Lane,” he had said. “He has been unlucky throughout the tournament and he managed to find a goal finally, he got luck in his favour, that was great for us.” And after scoring his first goal of the tournament in the semifinal, he doubled his tally at the biggest moment possible.
With just six minutes to go in the match, the Tigers won a PC but their main man Jugraj was not on the pitch. It was Rupinder and Lane lining up. The first attempt was botched at the stopping. But Rupinder salvaged the situation for a retake and Lane scored the matchwinner. “It was frustrating not to score during the league phase, because goalscoring is my strong point, and I haven’t had a drought like that for a while,” Lane said. “It’s an amazing feeling to win this title, and I have wanted to play in front of Indian fans in the HIL for a long time. So to score in the semifinal and final is something I’d remember for a very long time.”
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Soorma clinch 3rd place
Their semifinal ended in heartache and rage, as Tamil Nadu Dragons felt they were robbed off a place in the final due to refereeing decisions in the penalty shootout. And a day later, it seemed that result took a fair bit out of them mentally as they went down 2-3 against Soorma Hockey Club in the battle for third place. On the other hand, Harmanpreet Singh’s Soorma were beaten by Toofans as their penalty corner conversion took a beating but they found three field goals on the night thanks to Gurjant Singh (12’), Harjeet Singh (19’), and Prabhjot Singh (57’).
