HIL gave me a platform to make India comeback: Rohidas

CHENNAI: After making his debut for India in 2013, Amit Rohidas could not cement his place in the team. He was left out of the side for three years and this was a challenging period for the defender. However, his stellar show in the Hockey India League (HIL) for three seasons (from 2015 to 2017) did not go unnoticed as he used it as a platform to prove his mettle to the selectors.

He has not looked back since and has been a regular member of the setup for the last seven years. Amit played an important role in defence in the 2020 and 2024 bronze-medal winning Olympic teams.

“If not for the HIL, I do not know what I would be doing at this moment. I was able to get back into the Indian team due to my performance in the HIL,” Rohidas, who completed 200 appearances for the retaining the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT) national team recently, said.

“Those three years were very difficult for me. My family was behind me whenever I felt low. Apart from my family, my fans supported me, which motivated me to stay fit. It is very hard to enter the India team for the second time. I am glad that I could do it and stay consistent,” Rohidas added. After being part of Ranchi Rays in 2015 and the title-winning Kalinga Lancers in 2017, Rohidas will play his trade for Tamil Nadu Dragons in the upcoming HIL.

He was the fourth-highest paid Indian in the auction in October. In defence, the 31-year-old will form a deadly combo with Olympic gold medallist Jipp Jansen from the Netherlands. “We have a good team with a combination of youth and experience. I will get to play a few of the round-robin matches in Rourkela, where I started my journey in 2004. It will be a memorable moment for me,” Rohidas said.

‘We are giving opportunities to youngsters’

After clinching bronze at the Paris Olympics and retaining the Asian Champions Trophy (ACT), India lost the two- match series to Germany at home. Reflecting on the recent results, Rohidas said that India fielded a young team in the ACT and the Germany assignment.

“Although we lost the Germany series, we gave a good fight after going down in the first match. Our intention was to give the youngsters more chances and they played pretty well. We had little time after the Olympics to train but we managed to win the ACT with a young side.”