Former India drag-flicker Jugraj Singh has described captain Harmanpreet Singh as India’s “trump card” heading into the FIH Hockey World Cup 2026, which begins in Belgium and the Netherlands on Saturday. Speaking to PTI, Jugraj drew direct comparisons between his own playing style and Harmanpreet’s, rating the current captain among the world’s top three drag-flickers and backing India’s 20-member squad to end a decades-long wait for a World Cup medal.
There is a particular kind of authority that comes from having lived a career cut short, from watching someone else complete the arc you never got to finish. Jugraj Singh’s international story ended abruptly in 2003, a car accident near Jalandhar closing the door on a talent once spoken of in the same breath as Sohail Abbas and Florian Kunz. What has followed instead is a quieter, longer second act — mentor, observer, and now the man drawing a straight line between his own unfulfilled promise and Harmanpreet Singh’s ongoing one.
That line is not incidental. Both men came through the Surjit Hockey Academy, both built reputations on aggression at the top of the circle, and both carried the weight of India’s penalty-corner hopes on their shoulders. As India prepare to open their World Cup campaign, Jugraj’s endorsement of Harmanpreet carries the particular weight of someone who genuinely sees himself in the player he is describing.
A reflection on the turf
Jugraj does not hedge when describing the resemblance.
It is not sentiment alone driving the comparison. Jugraj rates Harmanpreet among the top three drag-flickers in the world currently.
The mentor who never left
What separates Jugraj’s assessment from casual praise is the access behind it. He has continued to guide Harmanpreet after tournaments and national camps, a relationship built on shared craft rather than formal coaching duty.
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Central to that guidance is video analysis — slowing down the game to see what live play conceals.
Beyond the flick
Jugraj is careful to frame drag-flicking as only part of the modern game’s demands.
That coordination matters more than ever given what Jugraj expects opposition sides to do to Harmanpreet specifically.
It is why Jugraj insists India’s depth beyond Harmanpreet will matter just as much as the captain’s own returns.
Closing the gap
Underlying all of this is a shared sense of unfinished business. Jugraj recalled a direct conversation with his protégé about the one prize that has eluded Indian hockey despite its other honours.
Hockey India frames that drought as a 51-year wait; Jugraj, in his own reckoning, put it at 50. The discrepancy is a footnote against the scale of the ambition itself, and Jugraj’s belief in this squad’s readiness was unambiguous.
What comes next
India arrive in Belgium and the Netherlands having earned their place through an Asia Cup title on home soil, with Harmanpreet — now 30 years old and capped 264 times — leading a squad built around experience in goal through Suraj Karkera and fresh promise via debutant Mohith HS. The tournament runs from August 15 to 30, and for a captain already carrying Olympic medals, a World Cup remains the one line missing from an otherwise complete record. Whether Harmanpreet can convert Jugraj’s faith into the medal India have chased for half a century will become clear only once the drag-flicks start counting in Belgium and the Netherlands.
