New Delhi, March 27 Veteran midfielder Manpreet Singh dismissed rumors of a falling out with Hockey India chief Dilip Tirkey on Friday, clarifying that the former India captain had, in fact, encouraged him to surpass his record of being the most-capped player for the senior national team.
Tirkey currently holds the record of making 412 international appearances, the most by an Indian men's hockey international, and Manpreet, at 411, is just two matches away from breaking his long-standing record.
While there were rumors that all was not well between Manpreet and Tirkey after the veteran midfielder was dropped from the list of core probables for the FIH Pro League earlier this year, the duo came out in public to clear the misunderstanding.
Manpreet expressed his desire to continue playing at least until the Asian Games and then would decide on his future depending on his fitness.
"At present, my focus is on the Asian Games, and I will continue to play until the Asian Games as I am fit and training daily. My body is responding to what I am asking it, but after that, I will take a decision based on my fitness," Manpreet said on the sidelines of the eighth Hockey India Annual Awards here.
"Coach (Craig) Fulton's idea is simple. He will pick the players who are fit. For me also, if I am not fit, I cannot play. In world hockey, fitness is the most important thing."
Manpreet said an unnecessary controversy was created after his ouster from the probables list, and he decided to sit out to spend time with his family.
"A lot of things happened. I have also spoken to Dilip sir personally. He told me that he has no problem if I play the 412th game. He wants me to break the record. He wants me to become the first Indian to play 500 games. That's what he wants. He said that he would be very happy if I break the record," Manpreet said.
Tirkey also clarified his position, insisting that he never cared about his record.
"Manpreet has played 411 matches, and I wish to clarify that it is absolutely not the case as has been suggested in the media and on social media that he is being prevented from playing simply to stop him from breaking a record.
"Had that been our intention, he could have been dropped immediately after the Pro League, when the team's performance was lackluster. However, we have always prioritized treating our players with respect and encouraging them to perform well," the HI president said.
Tirkey said that looking at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, HI's focus is on the development of young players.
"The roadmap for the future was established during the 2024 Paris Olympics cycle. Under this framework, a list of six or seven senior players was drawn up who would not be part of the Los Angeles Olympics squad. The objective was to groom new players for the upcoming Olympics."
At 33, Manpreet boasts of two consecutive Olympic bronze medals in 2020 and 2024, three Commonwealth Games medals including two silvers, and three Asian Games medals including two golds. He was also awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 2021.
"The journey has been long and had many ups and downs. But I think it was a good journey. I am very lucky to have reached here. My team has contributed a lot to this. In 2012, we finished at 12th, then we have got back-to-back bronze medals. It has been such a great journey."
"When I came as a teenager of 18-years of age and finished 12th in Olympics, it was a low point. But the bronze medals at Olympics are the high point," he said.