The recent pay issue has got the players to bond better, feels India Hockey skipper Rajpal Singh

If the Indian hockey team can equal the number of controversies they've been involved in recently with

Right: India skipper Rajpal Singh

victories in the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup, Rajpal Singh & Co would well be crowned world champions in a couple of weeks.

Having said that, skipper Rajpal believes the problems have only brought the players closer.
And the results of this "extra-special bonding" will be evident in the team's performance at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium from February 28 to March 16. India take on arch-rivals Pakistan on Sunday in the mother of all hockey clashes.

Excerpts from an interview with the hardworking forward:

Given all the controversies surrounding your team in the run-up to the World Cup, you must be feeling like you are in some kind of a hot seat...
I don't think we should read too much into all that. The players were only asking what was due to them.
But what has stood out in all this is the team's unity. I think all the issues have only got us closer together.
There is no rift in the team. The boys now share an extra-special bond off the field. I'm sure that will culminate into great results on the field. We are totally focused on the job ahead -- which is to do well for the country in the World Cup.