Jalandhar, June 17 -- Once scolded for spending too much time on the hockey field and discouraged from pursuing the sport, Jalandhar's Manpreet Singh is now on the verge of scripting history. The 33-year-old star midfielder from Mithapur village is set to become India's most-capped hockey player when he takes to the field against Germany during the ongoing FIH Pro League at Rotterdam in the Netherlands on Wednesday.

Back home in Mithapur, long regarded as a nursery of Indian hockey, family members, friends and coaches are celebrating as Manpreet prepares for his 413th outing in the national jersey.

The four-time Olympian and a Tokyo bronze medallist, Manpreet, equalled former captain Dilip Tirkey's long-standing record of 412 internatio...