By Admin 
Captain Rohit, a powerful dragflicker and a fearless rusher, is confident of India putting up a good show in the FIH junior men’s hockey World Cup to be held here and in Madurai from November 28 to December 10.
In his second and last stint with the National junior team, the 21-year-old from Haryana is excited to play in front of home crowd.
“I’m feeling good because we are playing in front of the home crowd. As a sportsman, training and support has always been good. I’m also excited because the other teams come under pressure,” he said.
Though Rohit has been with the junior team since 2022, winning gold medals in the Asia Cup in 2023 and 2024 and the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2022, he was chosen as the skipper ahead of quite a few seniors.
Head coach P.R. Sreejesh defended the decision, terming it as a collective one.
“He is one of the iconic players and one of the most recognised players in the team. He is part of the leadership group with four others who respect each other. When it comes to captaincy, I asked my players who they would pick, and most of them chose Rohit,” said the former India goalkeeper.
For Rohit, hailing from Dabra village in Hisar district of Haryana, pressure is not something to fear but something to feel responsible about.
“As a dragflicker, I have to score whenever the team needs me and I feel responsible. When the team is losing, I have to tell the players to be more active.”
Rohit said playing with the senior India team in the camp at Bengaluru recently showed the real meaning of pressure and taught the team how to deal with it.
“We played four matches with the seniors. We won some and lost some. The seniors are quick and put a lot of pressure. The quarterfinals and semifinals of the Junior World Cup here will be like that and we are prepared.”