Eyeing comeback, Devinder and Harjeet sign up for Dutch league

HGC, one of the biggest clubs in the country, are coached by Paul van Ass, who had a brief and bitter stint with the Indian national team in 2014.

Harjeet Singh to play for Dutch Club HGC in the upcoming Euro Hockey League 2019-2020 season (File photo)

One is the captain of India’s junior World Cup winning team. The other a key figure of the 2016 Olympics squad. Both have been left out of the core group for the Tokyo Games. Now, to force their way into the national team, both are headed to the Netherlands.

Olympian Devinder Walmiki and former junior India captain Harjeet Singh have signed up for former European and Dutch champions HGC for the upcoming season. It’s for the first time since Sardar Singh played for Bloemendaal in 2013 that Indian players will compete in the Dutch league, which is among the best in Europe.

HGC, one of the biggest clubs in the country, are coached by Paul van Ass, who had a brief and bitter stint with the Indian national team in 2014.

The club grabbed a European Hockey League ticket last season for the first time since 2011. However, the departure of big names like England’s Ashley Jackson and Belgians Tanguy Cosyns and Max Plennevaux prompted the club to look for reinforcements.

Van Ass’s connections in India, coupled with the awareness of the players’ abilities, led to him signing the Indian duo despite them not featuring in the national team programme for quite some time.

Walmiki, an attacking midfielder, was a regular till the Rio Olympics and was a part of the team that lost in the quarterfinals. However, he fell out of favour soon after and has not been able to return to the core group of 48 players despite being a consistent performer in domestic competitions.

Harjeet, on the other hand, was fast-tracked to the senior team after he led the juniors to World Cup glory in 2016. However, the defensive midfielder was unable to establish himself and after being in and out of the side for almost a year, he has not been able to find a place for more than 12 months.

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With new coach Graham Reid, too, ignoring them while choosing his core group, the midfield duo will hope to catch the Australian’s attention with their performances in the Netherlands.

HGC are led by veteran Dutch forward Seve van Ass, son of coach Paul.

The club recently signed Argentine striker Maico Casella. Walmiki and Harjeet have been included in the squad for the European Hockey League as well. The world’s most competitive club competition begins in October in Barcelona.

“They are the latest newcomers to an overhauled panel from the line-up that finished third in the Netherlands last season with coach Paul van Ass returning to the club in style,” the club said in a statement.