Has Harmanpreet Singh broken Balbir Singh’s goalscoring record? The Indian captain left in limbo

Before the start of the Asian Champions Trophy, Harmanpreet Singh was tipped to top the history. He chased the scoring record of the great Balbir Singh Sr. and became India’s second highest run-scorer in history behind Dhyan Chand.

Ahead of India’s match against Malaysia, Harmanpreet needed a few more wickets to go past Balbir Singh’s tally of 246 wickets. He scored a hat-trick during the match on Sunday 1 November. India eventually won 4-2. But then came all the confusion.

The question was, did he actually break the record?

WHY THE CONFUSION?

So the reason for the confusion stems from two data nodes. One is the data held by Hockey India and the other by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). In the HI data center, Harmanpreet has 270 caps for the national team and has scored over 228 goals. The exact number itself was not marked and the HIs themselves looked confused as to whether the Indian skipper had hit his mark. (Credit: Hockey India website)

Then comes the FIH. Here, the Indian star is said to have played a total of 281 matches and scored 319 goals. This just added to the whole drama surrounding the situation. (Credit: FIH website)

NO VIEWS ON RECORD: HARMANPREET SINGH

Harmanpreet was left confused like everyone else when he spoke to the media after the match. He simply stated that he had no idea about the matter and joked that journalists should raise the issue to find some justice.

“I’m confused. I’m getting different information from many places. Some places it’s over 300. Let’s find out, you guys are good at it.”

“I have no idea, maybe you can ask that question and we will find out,” said Harmanpreet.

While the confusion in the record continued, Harmanpreet was at his best as he scored two PKs and a penalty kick to complete his hat-trick. There was a special moment before the match when Harmanpreet’s father was one of the dignitaries who came to greet these teams.

The Indian skipper shared a lovely moment with his father and the two men embraced in front of a boisterous home crowd in Jalandhar. Harmanpreet was emotional and called it a special and memorable moment for him.

“Yes, it was very special. My whole family is here. My mother, wife and both my daughters are here, so it’s an unforgettable moment for me,” said Harmanpreet.

India will face Korea in their final league match on Monday, November 2.

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