Bhubaneswar,
Rupinder Pal Singh clapped a couple of times and then shouted, “come on, guys”, urging his teammates to finish the practice session. The players started post-training stretching and inadvertently formed a rough circle around Rupinder. Captain Manpreet Singh recounted an old incident about Rupinder and said: “Back then I was a kid while you were already a star.” The comment was meant to be a joke, but there is no denying that Rupinder has been one of Indian hockey’s biggest stars in the last few years. Indian fans love goal-scorers, and no one scores more than a drag-flicker. Rupinder has been India’s main penalty-corner specialist for many years now.

On Wednesday, the 6ft 4in tall defender’s commanding presence on the field was undeniable. However, the other players didn’t see him as a star, they saw him as a leader. For the first time in his career, Rupinder’s importance in the team will not be gauged by his penalty corner prowess.

The 27-year-old, along with Birendra Lakra, will be leading a young and inexperienced defence in the Hockey World League Final, starting on Friday. India’s defence includes Harmanpreet Singh (48 international caps), Varun Kumar (12) and Dipsan Tirkey (12). “At his best, he is a top-class defender,” said David John, High Performance Director. “And for this team, his experience is crucial.”

However, the Australian sounded hesitant when asked if Rupinder would be able to handle the added responsibility. Especially, as he is coming back from a 6-month injury layoff. “This is a fresh start for me. I am playing after a while and my intent is to bring a lot of energy on to the field,” said Rupinder, who will be playing his first tournament since May’s Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.

John, who oversaw Rupinder’s recovery, explained the process and time it took to get the dragflicker to playing hockey. “He had a groin injury. It was a fatigue injury, which he picked up over a long period,” he said.

“The first thing we had to identify was whether it was caused due to a wrong posture or was it strength imbalance in his legs. But that wasn’t the case,” he added.

“We found out that his core was weak and because of bending low while drag-flicking, he picked up the injury. We didn’t want to change his drag-flicking technique, so the only other cure was absolute rest. We patiently worked on building his core strength, especially in the surrounding muscles.”

For Rupinder, it was a frustrating time, considering the injury was caused by his main passion – drag-flicking. “But he understood that rest was the only way. He had been playing continuously for two years,” said John.

“However, he was worried about how long the recovery would take. Every time we tried to bring him back, he felt soreness in the groin after training.”

That is the reason why Rupinder will not be India’s main drag-flicker at the tournament. “We are putting no pressure on him to drag-flick. We have many other options. Maybe he can share the responsibility with Harmanpreet,” said John.

In India’s practice game against Argentina, Rupinder scored one goal while one of his attempt was saved. “It means he is getting comfortable and regaining his confidence. But we are not putting any pressure on him,” John added. Rupinder is not troubled by the prospect of not being the team’s first-choice drag-flicker, saying he understood the importance of defence. “Defence is my top priority. In our practice match against England (1-1), we couldn’t get penalty corners. I believe that defence wins matches,” Rupinder said.

It’s not just as a defender that Rupinder could prove crucial for the team. At a time when John and coach Sjoerd Marijne are pushing for a more player-oriented team atmosphere, the senior player’s tactical inputs would be priceless, the Australian believes.