Former India captain Sardar Singh Announces Retirement From International Hockey
New Delhi, Sept 12: Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh decided to call time on his illustrious career, saying he had played enough in the last 12 years and now it's time for the youngsters to take over.
Sardar said he made the decision after a disappointing Asian Games where India failed to defend its title and returned with a bronze medal.
With age and speed not on his side, Sardar's performance in the Games came under the scanner.
"Yes, I have decided to retire from international hockey. I have played enough hockey in my career. 12 years is a long time. Now it's time for the future generation to take over," Sardar said.
"I took the decision after consultation with my family in Chandigarh, Hockey India and my friends. I think it's the right time to think about life beyond hockey," he added.
Interestingly, during the Asian Games in Jakarta, Sardar said he still has hockey left in him and desires to play one last Olympics in 2020 Tokyo.
However, he had a change of heart amid speculation that he was forced to retire after his name was dropped from the 25-strong core group of national campers announced by the Hockey India on Wednesday.
Asked about the dropping from the camp, Sardar evaded the question and said he would formally announce his retirement during a press conference in the national capital on Friday. Sardar made his senior debut for India against Pakistan in 2006 and since then he has been a vital cog in the Indian team's midfield.
The 32-year-old made over 350 international appearances for India and captained the national team for eight long years from 2008 to 2016 before handing the responsibility to PR Sreejesh.
Sardar was also the youngest player to captain the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He received the Arjuna award in 2012 and Padma Shri in 2015. Sardar has represented India in two Olympics.
Sardar will leave behind a rich legacy in the sport. A fighter to the core, he came back strongly after being dropped from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games squad. He worked hard on his fitness to roar back into the national team for the Champions Trophy, where India won a silver medal.
With age, he slowed down a bit but Sardar still is considered as one of the fittest players in the Indian team.
"Fitness is not the reason behind my decision. I am fit enough to play hockey for some more years. But there is always a time for everything and I feel it's time for me to move on in life," he said.
Sardar said he has conveyed his decision to chief coach Harendra Singh, adding he will continue to play hockey in the domestic circuit.
Hailing from Sirsa in Haryana, Sardar's career was not devoid of controversy either. Sardar was accused of rape by an Indian-origin British woman, a charge which he vehemently denied and was also given a clean chit by the special investigation team of Ludhiana Police.
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War Reaches India's Backyard. Now What?
On Wednesday, 4th March, something happened in the waters near Sri Lanka that should have made every Indian stop and think. A United States submarine fired a torpedo — an underwater missile that travels silently through the sea and explodes on impact — and sank an Iranian warship called IRIS Dena. At least 80 sailors lost their lives. This was not happening somewhere far away in the Middle East. This happened just off the coast of a country that shares the Indian Ocean with us.
The IRIS Dena was not doing anything suspicious at the time. It was simply returning home after attending the MILAN-2026 naval exercise near Visakhapatnam, an international event proudly organised by the Indian Navy last month. The ship was on what is called a peaceful passage — quietly sailing back through international waters, not threatening anyone, not engaged in any battle. And then it was gone.
This is what makes this incident so deeply unsettling.
The war between the US-Israel alliance and Iran was supposed to be confined to West Asia and the Gulf region. With this single torpedo strike, that war has now moved into the Indian Ocean — right into India's neighbourhood. The question every Indian should now be asking is simple: what does this mean for us, and are our seas safe?
To understand the full picture, you need to know what international maritime law says — because this is where things get complicated. The main rulebook for the world's oceans is called UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Think of it as the constitution of the seas. However, the United States has never signed this agreement. That alone tells you something important.
UNCLOS mostly covers peacetime rules — who owns which sea area, fishing rights, trade routes, and so on. But during a war, a separate set of naval warfare laws kicks in alongside it. Under these laws, since IRIS Dena was an Iranian Navy warship, it was technically considered a valid military target — regardless of where it was sailing or what it was doing at that moment. The Indian Express reported that several Indian Navy officers noted this uncomfortable legal reality clearly.
The UN Charter says in Article 2(4) that countries must not use military force against other countries. That sounds clear. But then Article 51 creates an exception — a country can attack in self-defence if it faces an armed threat. Additionally, the UN Security Council can give special permission for military strikes, as it did during the 1990 Gulf War. But getting that permission requires a majority vote, and none of the five permanent members — the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France — should veto it. Veto power means any one of these five countries can simply say no, and the entire decision is blocked.
It is also worth noting that the US Treasury Department placed official sanctions on the IRIS Dena back in February 2023. Sanctions are basically financial penalties and restrictions placed on a vessel or country — they don't prevent a ship from sailing, but they signal deep suspicion. At the time of the attack, the ship carried close-in weapon systems — rapid-fire guns used to shoot down incoming missiles or drones — and wider area defence systems. Despite this, it was caught completely off guard.
Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar (Retd), former Vice Chief of the Indian Navy and India's first National Maritime Security Coordinator, told The Indian Express that in the maritime domain, there are simply no fixed boundaries for war zones. Once a conflict begins, it has no clear walls on the sea. The fighting had already started after the ship left Indian shores, he explained. He also noted that since the attack happened inside Sri Lanka's Exclusive Economic Zone — the sea belt where Sri Lanka holds special rights over resources — rescue teams could begin operations relatively quickly.
However, Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai NM (Retd) raised a harder question. He pointed out that attacking a foreign warship on the high seas — international waters that belong to no single country — is generally considered illegal unless clearly justified as self-defence.
A senior Navy official, as reported by The Indian Express, called this strike a major escalation. The Iranian ship was not in a conflict zone. It was on a peaceful morning passage. Nobody on board would have imagined a torpedo was silently tracking them beneath the waves.
That is the terrifying reality of modern warfare at sea. There are no safe lanes, no guaranteed boundaries, no sacred stretches of water. The ocean is open — and today, it is deeply unpredictable.
India is watching. And India must think very carefully about what comes next.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
