Stalwarts of Indian Hockey; Abhishek Nain, Jugraj Singh and Sukhjeet Singh in conversation with Boria Majumdar ahead of the start of Hockey India League 2026. They talk about their plans to defend the title for Shrachi Bengal Tigers, preparing for an action-packed 2026, focusing on World Cup, significance of fan support, thriving under pressure, need for hockey to be commercially viable and plenty more.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] Tell us a bit about Hockey India League (HIL) and your performance last year.
Jugraj Singh: It is a great league and it has been a great one for me. It has proven to be a good platform for youngsters as well, where a lot of them has gotten into the Indian Team. It has equally been a good tournament for Shrachi Bengal Tigers as they won the finals and this year also the preparation is such that you might see us in finals again.
Boria: [To Abhishek Nain] Hockey India League has turned out to be a very good platform for Indian hockey. What are your thoughts on this?
Abhishek Nain: Hockey India League is definitely a good platform for youngsters to prove themselves. Talking about our Indian team, our environment is such that we are more confident that ever before, we play to win and not just to participate. About the upcoming season of HIL, we are working hard for that, have a good mix of players from youngsters to experienced in the team and we are all set to have a good season ahead.
Boria: [To Sukhjeet Singh] Tell us a bit about the last season and the turnaround points.
Sukhjeet Singh: The last match where we lost to Kalinga Lancers was a turning point for us as that led us to not taking the semi-final and final lightly.
Boria: [To Sukhjeet Singh] What do you think what defines this team, is it how it comes out of difficult times?
Sukhjeet Singh: Yes, we implemented all our team strategy, everyone performed well in the team and we won the semi-final and the final. We kept our mindset fixed, worked hard towards this.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] What is your leadership philosophy given you have youngest to experienced players in your team.
Jugraj Singh: We have an environment in the team that we are all leaders in our own ways. We will all play together, lead together, and win together.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] How important is HIL for Indian hockey?
Jugraj Singh: A lot of domestic players have come into this league, just like a lot of youngsters who has made their way into the national team. I want them all to perform well and make a place for themselves in bigger stages.
Boria: [To Abhishek Nain] HIL is now commercially viable. Your thoughts on that?
Abhishek Nain: It would be great to have more money in the game, the players can lead a good lifestyle. Youngsters would also get motivated to take up hockey if it is evident that they can lead a good life and support their families playing this sport. Even experienced players will get the motivation to do better in this field if there is better money associated in the league. So, I really want HIL to get more exposure through social media and inspire more players.
Boria: [To Sukhjeet Singh] Sports is always associated with superstition. Any superstition that you guys follow? Any story related to that?
Sukhjeet Singh: It totally depends on own beliefs and thinking. One thing that we do collectively is pray for the overall good and pray for each other. Our families also pray for us and the team’s good.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] Your thoughts on upcoming World Cup and Asian Games and on mental and physical fitness.
Jugraj Singh: We mostly have medals from all big-stage tournaments including Tokyo Olympics, Paris Olympics, Asian Games, CWG, Champions Trophy… the next target is World Cup and we will definitely bring medals from there as well.
Talking about mental and physical strength, we don’t concede late goals anymore and this has been a good transformation for us to be able to score goals even in the last second. So Indian team this way is pretty high in the list and you will get to see it during the World Cup as well.
Boria: [To Abhishek Nain] You have multiple awards; you are one of the best forwards in the country; As a senior pro how do you help youngsters and do you see real depth coming up?
Abhishek Nain: I try to take the youngsters along so that they don’t get left behind as it is the first time playing HIL. I try to guide them on and off the field with whatever knowledge I have , whatever help and support they require. I try to pass on my learnings to them because they are the future of hockey and India both.
Talking about awards, it is a matter of own pride and our family’s as well. So it is a big motivation.
Boria: [To Sukhjeet Singh] The different coaching styles and coaches that you all have to adjust with; does it help in better learning? or does it make things difficult to adapt?
Sukhjeet Singh: Yes, different coaches have different strategies and styles like when we are in HIL and when we are in our main Indian team, it’s all so different but we try to follow the coach’s instructions and adapt to their way of learnings.
Boria: [To Sukhjeet Singh] Is it possible for a team to peak within a span of 15-20 days, given the big tournaments are back-to-back?
Sukhjeet Singh: Depends on the team mindset but first focus is World Cup. After HIL it’s the FIH Pro league and then there are matches in India and Australia back-to-back. It’s also the Asian Games right after the World Cup so yes, we are following the strategy given by our coach and our preparations will be ongoing because of big tournaments one after one.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] Do you think the same about peaking within a short span of time? We don’t have many examples of that.
Jugraj Singh: It is challenging for sure going from here and having just 15 days or so in hand for Asian Games but we will try our best to give our best.
Boria: [To Jugraj Singh] How important are fans and their support is to you?
Jugraj Singh: It feels good to see increased number of people are coming forward now to support hockey. It gives us a motivation when they turn up in huge numbers to watch us play as you must have seen during the finals in Rourkela and we would expect the same this year for Shrachi Bengal Tiger in HIL.
Boria: [To Abhishek Nain] What does fans means to you?
Abhishek Nain: A full stadium gives the players a special reason to do well, so definitely means a lot for fans to turn up into the stadium and support us.
Boria: [To all] How do you handle pressure with so much expectation around?
Abhishek: We don’t really feel the pressure when the team is together. We communicate with each other and just follow our strategies.
Jugraj : Focusing and staying calm is our key. Teamwork is exercised in form of communicating within and keeping everyone in the game.
Sukhjeet: Motivating each other and especially the one who is not having a good day at the game. Communicating to bring them into the game and being there for each other is our drill to combat pressure.
Boria: Whether it’s a win or a loss, we will support hockey in every tournament. Thank you everyone for joining me.
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Abhishek Nain, Jugraj Singh, & Sukhjeet Singh share their… pic.twitter.com/AamkAlTxBd
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