That’s how India’s coach Harendra Singh sums up team’s Azlan Shah win in a chat with Mobile ESPN’s Ashish Bhardwaj.

India seem to be on a roll under Harendra Singh. Two consecutive international finals in quick succession, India just seem to be making the right signals before the World Cup in Delhi next year.

After finishing second best in the Punjab Gold Cup, India lifted the coveted Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh after 13 years. Under the leadership by Sandeep Singh, India beat hosts Malaysia 3-1 to win one of Asia's most prestigious invitational tournaments.

Excerpts from an interview:

Ashish Bhardwaj: Without taking away any credit from the team, do you think this year's Azlan Shah lacked quality teams like defending champions Argentina?

Harendra Singh: At a time when our ranking in the world is ninth, we should not be talking about the quality of other teams. Having said that, two of the five teams in the competition were ranked higher than India. Teams like Pakistan, New Zealand and Malaysia can beat the best in the world on any given day. So to say that this year's Azlan Shah was lacking in quality is wrong. Moreover, winning any competition against any opposition is never easy.

AB: The conversion ratio has shown a remarkable improvement in both field goal and penalty corners?

HS: It is a good start you can say, but don't rate it very highly. Perhaps this is one out of million steps we have to take to improve. Vision, planning, execution and result must combine together to accomplish our long terms goals. The team is moving in the right direction and we need to keep this frame of mind. If the last six months have been any indication, combination of youth and experience is playing a key role.

AB: We still conceded quite a few goals even against teams like Egypt. Is that a grey area?

HS: Please don't ask about this and I think this is not the right platform to discuss about the weakness of the team. World is so small that our opponents can work on those and can create problems for us in future. So I don't want to elaborate on shortcomings. But yes, there are many areas which need to be strengthened and I feel all are not in players' control.

Hockey needs to be combined with science to get desired results. There are many scientific reasons to explain why we are conceding late goals. To contest with world-class teams we need support staff with scientific knowledge. This is one solid reason to say why our standards have declined in last 15 years and I am finding it difficult to remove this. But if I get the right support, we can plug the loopholes in six months.

AB: Former coach and skipper Vasudevan Baskaran has said that not a foreigner but only you must be made the long-term coach. At this stage, are you keen too?

HS: Baskaran is my mentor. I have learnt a lot under him. He is an Olympic gold medalist who played an important role in grooming me. It's a big thing for me if a person of his stature is backing me. I am a servant of Indian hockey and whether I am the chief coach or his assistant, doesn't make any difference to me. I have always said I am willing to work under a foreign coach and learn more things.

AB: Coming to individual players, Sandeep Singh is maturing into a captain who leads from the front. Is he the man who must lead in the World Cup?

HS: I have always believed that young people should be given the responsibility to lead from the front. As far as the seniors are concerned, they must support the younger generation. If guys like Sandeep won't get support from the experienced lot like Dilip Tirkey, Tushar Khandekar, Ignace Tirkey and Prabhjot Singh, objectives cannot be achieved. Sandeep is not a match winner but you can rate him as a tournament winner. Sandeep is being groomed as a captain only because of this reason.

AB: Arjun Halappa also played an important role, didn't he?

HS: He is the strength of our mid-field. He always plays a mind game and leaves his mark. He performs as and when required in any kind of situation. In fact, I would say we need one or two more players like Arjun. He proved himself in the final for which he was adjusted the Man of the Match.