He always said he was born to fly his way

Tribune News Service 
Hoshiarpur, June 19

Bringing laurels to the district, a youth from Dagana Kalan village near here has been selected as fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force.

Flying Officer Gagandeep Singh Dhami (22) is the son of Punjab Police ASI Dalwinder Singh Dhami. 

Gagandeep was a student of GNA School, Hoshiarpur, up to Class VII and later moved onto Gems Cambridge International School, from where he did his matriculation.

Determined to be a pilot since his childhood, he took training from Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute. 

Sharing about his son’s journey after attending his felicitation ceremony in Chandigarh today, Dalwinder said, “My son studied non-medical up to Class XII and prepared for entrance to the NDA. He got 238th rank. Being along the top qualifiers, he got selected for one-year training from Air Force Academy near Hyderabad. He was among the five picked for training as fighter pilots.”

Dalwinder laughs, “My son does not know how to drive a scooter or a car. He has straightway chosen to fly a fighter plane.” 

He explains, “He is away from the home since he was 16. It has been six years since he has been into a rigorous training programme and he has finally achieved what he dreamt since his childhood.”

The proud father recalls, “Since the age of six or seven, Gagandeep used to say that he wants to become a pilot. All his friends knew about his ambition and would only gift him toy planes and choppers.”

He recalled another memorable incident, “As a child, my son got his arms fractured twice. When I took him to the doctor for the second time, the latter asked him what his aim in life was. As the doctor heard that he wanted to become pilot, he cautioned him against any more injuries. From then on, Gagandeep became cautious.” 

Gagandeep is set to join the IAF at Bidar on June 29.