When the Indian hockey team travel to Canada on Friday for their seven-match test series, there will be one team member who will do more than just vie for the selectors’ attention. For 20-year-old Dharamveer Singh, this tour is an opportunity to fulfill his promise to long-time mentor Baljit Singh Dadhwal, the injured goalkeeper who is in the US for his eye surgery, during hours of training together in Chandigarh. He has been drafted into the senior side for the first time.

“Bali paji was the first person I called after my selection. He told me I had to make sure I maintained my spot in the team for the 2010 World Cup. I will give my best during the Canada tour to make my case strong for the Champions Challenge and the World Cup,” says Dharamveer.

The youngster has been in fine form over the past few years and was declared as the best player of the Under-19 four-nation tournament in Singapore in 2005. He followed that up by being the second highest scorer in the U-19 six-nations tournament in Malaysia the following year.

Smooth graduation

He is confident of a smooth transition to the senior level. “The tournament in Singapore gave me a chance to play against top Asian teams. We got the right kind of exposure there. We were a bit disappointed after the early exit from the Junior World Cup, but I hope the jump to the senior level is smooth for me,” says Dharamveer, who was also declared the best upcoming talent in the last edition of the Nehru Cup.

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