Indian junior hockey team captain narrates how MS Dhoni inspired him in his life

Mahendra Singh Dhoni inspires not just cricketers but others too, including Indian junior hockey team captain, Uttam Singh. Be it scoring in sudden death against Australia, or leading from the front against arch-rival Pakistan, Uttam has done it all, and a lot of it has to do with him watching Dhoni in action.

"I am a big fan of MS Dhoni. Whether he is chasing 400 runs, or defending just 100 runs, he remains cool. Spectators feel the pressure in nail-biting finishes, but he does not. Never," Uttam told PTI Bhasha during an interview.

"He (Dhoni) is an inspiration for all the players. I have learnt from him that your opponent or anybody should never know what is going inside you during a match. I am happy that he has decided to play in the IPL next year too," he added.

READ MORE: MS Dhoni Makes Fresh Appearance After Successful Knee Surgery

Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd in Salalah, Oman, the Uttam-led Indian team eked out a close 2-1 win over Pakistan in the final of the Men's Junior Asia Cup 2023 to successfully defend its title. While in November 2022, Uttam scored twice in shootout to help India defeat Australia and win the Sultan of Johor Cup. When asked about India's performance in the recently-concluded Junior Asia cup, Uttam said that they wanted to retain their numero uno status in Asia.

"Junior Asia Cup was held after a gap of nine years. We were the defending champions and wanted to beat Pakistan in terms of number of titles also," said Uttam who was adjudged player of the match in the final.

This was India's fourth title in Junior Asia Cup, having won it previously in 2004, 2008 and 2015. Pakistan are the second-most successful team in the tournament with three titles, but their last win came 27 years ago.

READ MORE: Harsha Bhogle Is In Awe Of MS Dhoni

"India and Pakistan matches always carry additional pressure in any sport. We knew what it meant to win or lose a final against Pakistan. We also wanted to retain the number one ranking in Asia and number four status in the world," he said. He also added that the confidence level of the team was so high that it started preparing for the final ahead of the semifinal match.

"We had a draw against Pakistan in a pool match and did not want to take any chances. We also wanted to retain No. 1 ranking in Asia and No. 4 status in world ranking."

"Pakistan had 4-5 players who had played big tournaments at senior level too. We had a couple of days break before the semifinal and utilised that to improve man-to-man marking and penalty corner defence," said the 20-year-old from Karampur village in Ghazipur, UP.