Bengaluru: A lot has happened in Manpreet Singh's career since the beginning of this year.
Standing on the precipice of breaking current Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey's national record of 412 international caps, the former captain was surprisingly dropped from the 33-member core group for the FIH Pro League in January.
Firstly, a theory emerged that some powers in the federation apparently wanted to stall Manpreet's journey at 411, ensuring Tirkey's long-standing record remains intact. Given that the 33-year-old is still amongst the fittest players in the country, reports emerged that the Punjabi, along with Dilpreet Singh and Krishan Pathak, allegedly gave a junior player gummies (chewing gum) infused with a banned substance during the South Africa tour in December 2025 and was dropped because of disciplinary issues.
In an exclusive chat with DH on Wednesday, following a draining training session at SAI Centre here, Manpreet opened up about the sudden axing and controversies that 'hurt' him, how he kept himself motivated and the burning ambition to play the upcoming major events. Excerpts...
Q: You were very close to breaking Tirkey's record. But you were dropped out of the blue. How did you feel?
A: As a player, you are always happy for the national team. And, whenever I get a chance to wear the national colour, I proudly take it as my responsibility. Even now, it's a dream to wear the national colours. But when I didn't get selected, I wanted to take it in a positive way. I wanted to continue doing the same things that I'd been doing for years. I didn't want to drop my fitness. I just focussed on how I can channel this in a positive way. During that time, I paid more attention to myself and my fitness. So when I go back to the national camp, I want my fitness to be at the same level as when I left. I played 411 matches for India and I maintained a certain amount of consistency to achieve that. I was disappointed and hurt when I didn't get selected (for the Pro League) but as I said, I turned that setback into a positive one.
Q: How did you feel when you read reports that you were dropped because of disciplinary issues?
A: It did hurt me when I read the stories (about giving a junior player gummies) because I've given so much for the country and team. At the end of the day, it's all about how you respond to those things. If you keep thinking about that, you will not move forward. You need to leave them behind and think what's next for you. Controversies and setbacks have happened to many big players, take Virat Kohli for example. They've always bounced back.
Q: What's your take on the controversies?
A: There were a lot of controversies but I didn't pay attention to it. Because the federation people were in direct contact with me. The coaches were in contact with me. They told me that there is no such thing. There was stuff about Dilip sir's record. Federation people cleared that out by saying I've not been dropped because of that. They just told me not to pay attention to media reports, so I ignored it. I just focussed on making a comeback.
Q: What did you do off the field during that time?
A: My wife and my parents were the biggest supporters. I kept talking a lot to Paddy (Upton). He shared his experiences with me. He told me that I'm not alone and lots of cricketers have endured this (dropped from the national team). He told me all this is outside noise and I had to ignore it. His advice was to just focus on myself and do what's good for me. Background noise will keep going, but it's imperative not to get sucked into it. He told me to stay on track and not listen to all the noise.
Q: So how does it feel to be back in the national fold?
A: It feels really good. I took a little break in between because my body was a bit exhausted. But otherwise, we are back in the camp. Fitness-wise, I'm really up there. The understanding is great with the team. There's Pro League, then World Cup followed by the Asian Games. I'm really looking forward to that. It will be important for us to perform well in the eight matches of the Pro League because we will get the same teams in the World Cup as well as in the Asian Games. So, this will be very important for us in the next period. I'm excited as ever. My goal is simple, when I play for the country, give 100 percent. Even today, I have the same fire in my mind that whenever I step on the ground, I give 100 percent. And like the next matches of the Pro League, because our last matches of the Pro League were not so good. But this period is very important for us.
Q: India didn't do well in the Pro League this year. What went wrong?
A: When you play big teams, the defence needs to be strong. (Coach) Craig (Fulton) always says defend to win. Only if your defence is good, you can attack well. We lacked a bit in defence. We lost by a big margin to Argentina. There were a lot of silly mistakes, man-to-man marking was off, there were mis-traps and mis-passes. But it's a good learning experience for us. But when the camp started, all of us had a candid conversation and we've gone about addressing it. The team looks reenergised now.