Over the course of the last week, we have heard much about who is the real ‘Sarpanch’ of Indian sport. Sunil Taneja, who first named Harmanpreet Singh as the “sarpanch”, said it nicely in a video. “Why create a controversy over this? Let there be more than one, but it is impossible to take away the sarpanch tag from captain Harmanpreet Singh. His exploits in Paris 2024 justly earned him the tag of sarpanch.”
Taneja is right. However much Punjab Kings try and name someone else as the new sarpanch, there will always be a pushback. But that’s where we should take a step back. Be it Harmanpreet with the hockey stick or Shreyas Iyer with the cricket bat, as long as the leader gets the job done on the sporting field, let there be more than one sarpanch with Harmanpreet being the first among equals.
Harmanpreet over the last few years has evolved as leader. From failing in the 2023 World Cup at home to winning a second Olympic medal in Paris, it has been quite a journey. At the centre of this journey has been an unending quest for excellence and a singular determination to do something for the tricolour.
Take the India-Great Britain game in Paris 2024. Down to 10 men with 43 minutes to go, most teams would have given up. GB are no mean side and with Amit Rohidas asked to leave the pitch for dangerous play, no one gave India a chance.
“Yes, it is the most difficult match I have ever played,” Harmanpreet said recently at the Trailblazers conclave organised by RevSportz. “In modern hockey, to be able to hold a team like GB off for 43 minutes doesn’t happen. But then, the Olympic Games don’t happen every day either. We had trained for every eventuality. We had prepared to give our best for the country. On that day, I told my boys we will put bodies on the line, get injured if need be, but we won’t concede and we won’t give up. These are the kind of matches that you remember all your life.”
Sarpanch – it is right there in that comment. A leader of men and a team, for the country. Someone who has been the torchbearer for Indian hockey for some years now, and will yet again lead the charge come the Asian Games in 2026 and the Olympics Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
The best part about “skipper”, and that’s how I refer to him, is that he is always in control of the situation. Even when he is angry and cursing, it seems to us from the outside that he is in control. Even when he is under pressure and feeling a sense of anxiety, he exudes calm. That’s what you want in your leader, for that’s what gives you confidence. Whenever he steps up to take a penalty corner, India lives in hope. And that’s why he is the ‘sarpanch’.
I love each episode of Backstage with Boria that I do. To see athletes opening up is always special. But this one was even more special. To get sarpanch sa’ab to drop his guard and tell us what it all means to him. Captain, leader, legend. And, yes, Sarpanch.
Full episode at 12 noon on all Revsportz platforms.