Is this the End of the ‘Playing’ Road for Indian Forward Akashdeep Singh?

Getting ‘picked’ and ‘dropped’ from the national team is part and parcel of any player’s journey. It’s never a ‘pleasant pill to swallow’ when you have to embrace ‘disappointments’ (of being shunted out of the national side) on a consistent basis – for sure, it’s not easy to be currently in the shoes of Akashdeep Singh – the 29-year-old forward, who was still coming to terms with his omission from the national side for the 2024 Paris Olympics, is staring at an uncertain future after not getting a look-in for the 8th Asian Champions Trophy at China.

It is worth recalling that Akashdeep, who was rather ‘vocal’ when he was not picked for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, had his ‘biggest wow moment’ when he fired the match-winner with a rasping reverse flick against Malaysia at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy final against Malaysia at Chennai – the goal coming four minutes from the final hooter in a match where Indian rebounded magnificently after trailing 1-3 in the third quarter. He scored 4 goals at the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy but fell off the selection radar and was subsequently not picked for the 2023 Asian Games at Huangzhou. As things stand, the final 2023 Asian Champions Trophy final against Malaysia could pan out to be his final game in India colours.

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A natural forward, Akshdeep was fielded as a midfielder during the stint of coach Graham Reid and one is not sure whether this experiment threw a spanner in his playing career. With the likes of young forwards Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh raising their performance bar, there was pressure on Akashdeep to show that he can bring much more to the Indian team table. But one never felt that the seasoned campaigner was struggling to match the young forwards. Although nothing much has been said in public domain about his axing from the side, there are whispers that the current lot of young forwards bring more versatility to the side and probably adapt effectively in all roles earmarked for them.

Akashdeep’s omission from the 8th Asian Champions Trophy side appears to be a strong message send out by the Indian team think-tank that they are looking beyond the vastly experienced forward as they gird their loins for the road ahead with a focus on the 2026 World Cup and 2026 Asian Games and by then, he would have turned 31. The Indian men’s hockey team would lock horns against Olympic silver medallists Germany in a two-Test series at New Delhi in October-end and they are slated to embark for a European tour of Belgium and Netherlands in year-end. There aren’t enough tournaments in the fray for Akashdeep to mount a national comeback.

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Interestingly, Akashdeep was part of the national team setup when the team embarked on tours of South Africa and Australia earlier this year along with the FIH Pro League. Just to give a context to it, for all those three events India had picked a larger squad of 20 plus players. But when it comes to Olympics, the ‘16-member squad norm’ can be cruel on players and Akashdeep had to cool his heels on the sidelines.

Akashdeep, who has made 246 international appearances and scored 92 goals, has been part of many success stories crafted by the national team. He was part of India’s gold-winning 2014 Asian Games squad as well as part of the silver-winning 2016 Champions Trophy squad. The soft-spoken striker was also a member of the 2018 bronze-winning 2018 Asian Games squad – he also played his part in India’s three Asian Champions Trophy triumphs at Kuantan (2016), Muscat (2018), and Chennai (2023) besides orchestrating meaningful roles in various international tourneys, where the Blueshirts made a podium finish.

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Indian men’s hockey would always fondly remember Akashdeep for his contributions – it would have a great sight to see the forward hit the turf wearing the Indian jersey. Surely, one hopes that Akashdeep is not put into a situation where he is left with little option but to call time on his playing career. Comebacks are always possible in sport!