There was a moment before the final of the men's Hockey India League between Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Hyderabad Toofans that foretold the eventual story of the match. As the 15-minute warm up period began, the Toofans players were the first to come out. Within seconds, they began their warmup, their head coach Pasha Gademan telling his players to practice their turns and hits. Almost 10 minutes later, the Bengal Tigers entered the field. Not all of them but only their penalty corner specialists - Jugraj Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh and Sam Lane. They started doing their thing while other players made it to the field to casually pass the ball between themselves. The contrast of intensities in the two warmups was quite something.
There were plenty of penalty corners and eventually only penalty corner goals in the final. The result was 4-3 to Bengal Tigers who clinched the title at Rourkela's Birsa Munda International Stadium. After the semifinal, Gademan said that his team has been playing the most complete hockey while Tigers are limited but they knew what they were doing the whole time. That was the story of the final. The Tigers knew their strengths and they knew who would deliver.
Jugraj Singh scored three goals in the final and ended the tournament as the highest goal-scorer with 12 goals. In a tournament that has Harmanpreet Singh, Gonzalo Piellat, Jip Janssen, Alexander Hendrickx and Jeremy Hayward, it was Jugraj who ended up scoring the most penalty corner goals. This is certainly a career-defining moment for the 28-year-old.
Two years ago, when Bram Lomans came to the Indian camp ahead of the World Cup, he spoke about Jugraj having all the power to become a world class dragflicker but there was one thing missing - control. On days when Jugraj got his dragflick right, there was no stopping him, like this final. But there were also days when his deficiencies became apparent. Even as a defender, Jugraj struggled to bring consistency. That's why he was a reserve player at the World Cup and at the Olympics.
When Rupinder Pal Singh, Jugraj's captain at the Bengal Tigers and a world class dragflicker himself, was asked about his recent form, he said Jugraj had found a balance between a good dragflicker and an equally good defender.
"Everybody was aware that he is the no. 1 dragflicker in the team. As a senior my aim was to keep him on the right track on the field when he is taking the penalty corners and when he is playing as a defender on the field. They are two diferent things. It shouldn't be like if you are scoring from PCs, you are performing well -- which of course helps -- and if you aren't scoring goals, you aren't performing well on the field," Rupinder said.
HAT-TRICK HERO IN THE FINAL! Jugraj Singh is lighting it up, and puts @srbt24 in the lead!
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- Hockey India League (@HockeyIndiaLeag) February 1, 2025
To be on the right track isn't just about scoring goals. The reason why Jugraj was a big success at the Hockey India League was because he found control, both in his dragflicks and as a defender. In the course of 12 matches for Bengal Tigers, Jugraj certainly emerged as a better player. The goals came also because he was solid at the back - keeping his concentration, reducing errors, winning crucial tackles and blocking shots.
In the semifinal against Tamil Nadu Dragons, Bengal Tigers were down to 10 men for 10 minutes after a yellow card to Sebastien Dockier. Tigers regrouped and concentrated on defending to not let the Dragons take a 3-1 lead. Jugraj was at the centre of that defence doing all the right things.
Each Jugraj goal in the final was the best of power and control. All the goals were hit low and to the side. He didn't even give a chance to the goalkeeper to move his legs. Twice the Bengal Tigers were down but they came back to make it 2-2 and then 3-2 seconds later. All three strikes came from Jugraj.
Toofans equalised but Sam Lane hit the winner in the 54th minute, another penalty corner. Hyderabad kept pushing but Tigers went into the mode seen in the semifinal where they became a rock at the back.
Bengal Tigers may not have been the best team in the tournament even though they topped the table. Eventually they became champions because they did many little things right but primarily, Jugraj did many things right.