Sandeep credits Bhajji for return

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Back in the side after the London Olympics last year, star drag-flicker Sandeep Singh has credited his friend and cricketer Harbhajan Singh for helping him come out of the bad phase that sidelined him from the national squad for nine months.
Sandeep returned to the national-fold for the upcoming FIH World League Round 3 semi-finals to be played in the Netherlands after being dropped from the Asian Champions Trophy, Champions Trophy, Azlan Shah Cup and World League Rd 2 played earlier this year.
“The last few months were tough for me and I was stressed. I spoke to Bhajji who is a good friend. He told me not to give up hard work and spend quality time with family. I did the same and despite not being a part of final team I took part in every camp. I was confident that my hard work will come good for me,” Sandeep said.
Sandeep fell out of favour after the London Olympics due to a slump in form but his performance in the inaugural Hockey India League, where he emerged as the top scorer with 11 goals in 12 matches, put him in reckoning for a national call-up. The 27-year-old had a good outing in last month’s Dutch tour as well. Though he went through highs and lows in his career after a terrible Olympics campaign, he said he did not lose his self-belief.
“When I had an accident in 2006, no one believed that I will return to the ground but I did. This time also I was out of the team for long but I was confident of making a comeback,” he said.
The gritty fullback however not only recovered from that career threatening injury, but also reestablished himself in the team.
Strong challenges from teams like Australia, the Netherlands and Spain await the Indian team in the World League Rd 3 to be played from June 13 to 23 but Sandeep is confident of a good show.
“We have had hard training in the last couple of weeks and the focus was on aggressive hockey. Now it’s up to us how we can implement the strategy in the ground. I am sure that we will not let our coaches down,” he said.