Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Before the Asian Champions Trophy got underway, Harmanpreet Singh was tipped to be on the cusp of history. He was chasing the goals record by the great Balbir Singh Sr. and become India’s second-highest goalscorer in history behind Dhyan Chand.
Ahead of India’s game against Malaysia, Harmanpreet needed a few more goals to get past Balbir Singh’s tally of 246 goals. He proceeded to hit a hat-trick during the match on Sunday, November 1, as India won 4-2 in the end. But then came the whole confusion.
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The question was did he actually break the record?
WHY THE CONFUSION?
So the reason behind the confusion stems from two data hubs. One is the data possessed by Hockey India and the other by the International Federation of Hockey (FIH). In the HI data hub, Harmanpreet is said to have 270 appearances for the national team and scored 228-plus goals. The exact number in itself wasn’t marked and HI themselves seemed to confused if the Indian captain had achieved the feat.
Then comes the FIH one. Here, the Indian star is said to have played a total of 281 caps and scored 319 goals. This just added to the whole drama around the situation.
NO CLUE ABOUT RECORD: HARMANPREET SINGH
Harmanpreet was left confused like everyone else while talking to the media after the game. He simply stated that he had no clue about the matter and joked that the journalists should raise this issue to find some justice.
“I’m confused. I’m getting different info from a lot of places. At some places it is 300-plus. Let’s find out, you guys are good in this.”
“No clue, maybe you guys can raise that question and we will get to know,” said Harmanpreet.
While the confusion of the record remained, Harmanpreet was at his best, scoring two PCs and a penalty stroke to complete his hat-trick. Ahead of the game, there was a special moment when Harmanpreet’s father was one of the dignitaries who came to greet tje teams.
The Indian captain shared a beautiful moment with his father and both men embraced each other infront of a buoyant home crowd in Jalandhar. Harmanpreet was emotional and called it a special and memorable moment for him.
“Yes, that was very special. My entire family is here. My mother, my wife and both my daughters are here, so this is a memorable moment for me,” said Harmanpreet.
India will play Korea in their final league game on Monday, November 2.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
