HIL: India men’s junior captain Rohit aims senior team slot but relishing learning experience with SG Pipers
For the Indian junior men’s hockey team captain Rohit, last year’s Junior World Cup marked a turning point – not just because India returned with a bronze medal, but because of how much he grew through the experience.
“I had a great personal experience,” he said, reflecting on the tournament.
“Playing in front of big crowds was a learning experience. If we want to play world-level hockey, we have to be quicker and improve our physical strength,” he added. His leadership has evolved, too. “You have to take the team along with you, and when needed, push them and tell them what to do and what not to do.”
This was Rohit’s second Junior World Cup. “We finished fourth last time (2023),” said the 21-year-old defender, laying out the contrast. The biggest difference, according to him, was dealing with the decisive moments.
“The difference is in the lessons learned on how to win the pressure matches,” Rohit explained. “Medal was necessary; for the people who watch us, like us. For them, it is necessary that our country finishes on the podium,” he said in an interview before the start of the second edition of the Hockey India League (HIL).
Rohit went through one of the toughest phases of his career in late 2024. A serious jaw injury (fracture) sidelined him for over two months, leaving him physically unfit and mentally uncertain. “At that time, it felt very bad,” he recalled. “For at least two and a half months, I sat out, due to which I became very unfit.”
The challenge didn’t end with recovery. “As you get fit and start training, you are not in rhythm with the whole team in the beginning, because they are 2-3 months ahead of you (in terms of training). So, it took time for that. Once I started getting the rhythm back, I also started getting my confidence back.”
Rohit, the son of a farmer, hails from the village of Dabra in Haryana. His early hockey days were modest. “I started with a wooden stick,” he said, explaining that it was the norm in his village. It wasn’t about advantage, he clarified, but practicality. “At that time, a wooden stick cost ₹200, and a Graphite stick ₹3000,” he said. The only players who stuck with hockey and improved were given graphite sticks.
Rohit didn’t begin with hockey. Like most children around him, he played cricket first. His path changed when a relative, who was a hockey coach, suggested to his grandmother that he give hockey a try. “So, I started, kept playing continuously, and developed an interest,” he said. What drew him in was simple: “(scoring) goals,” he said. “I used to play as a forward and stay near the goalpost.”
As his career progressed, he found inspiration in Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh. “Everyone knows he hits the drag-flick well,” Rohit said, before pointing to what impressed him more. “He reads the game and plays the free man very well. I like his leadership quality – when the team needs a goal, he scores it.”
The HIL, where he plays for Delhi SG Pipers, has further sharpened Rohit’s understanding of elite hockey. “When you play with the world’s best players, they teach you when to do what,” he said. Playing only among familiar teammates, he believes, limits growth. “When you play with the best, you realise where you stand, what you need to improve – physically, mentally, and skill-wise.”
He credits the league for exposing him to new details of the game. “In drag-flicking, I’ve been explained how to throw (throwing the stick at the ball to launch it). Tomas Santiago (Pipers goalkeeper) taught me how to run in defence,” he said.
Regarding his ambition, he said: “Right now, my main goal is to play for the senior Indian team.”
He is keen to carry the lessons from the Junior World Cup into the new HIL season. “I learned variations in drag-flicking and penalty-corner defence, and I want to execute them better in the league.”
Published on Jan 05, 2026