Indian team’s victory in Olympics sends players’ kin on cloud nine
Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 8
From anxiety to euphoria, the mood among the family members of Harmandeep Singh, legendary drag-flicker and captain of the Indian hockey squad, exhibited a sudden swing as the match with Spain ended in Paris on Thursday with India clinching the bronze medal.
The hockey skipper’s father Sarabjit Singh continued praying to the Almighty for the victory of the Indian team. In the last two minutes of the game when the opponents got four penalty corners, Sarabjit folded his hands and started murmuring prayers.
After the match ended, an ecstatic Sarabjit Singh said, “Tonight, I will sleep like a baby, free of care. My diabetes had been giving me trouble for the last two weeks.” As his phone rang continuously with people calling up to congratulate on his son’s success, Sarabjit kept asking everyone to come to his home at Timmowal village for celebrations that ensued soon after the match.
Rajwinder Kaur, Harmandeep’s mother, said, “There had been a lot of pressure on us. We wanted our son and his friends to get gold for the country. We are satisfied that the boys have made the country proud.” She said that his son has been an icon for the local youth and she is proud to be his mother.
With five players from the district playing in the Indian hockey team in Olympics, celebrations were held in various areas as the team registered its win. Guravtar Singh Bhola, uncle of Gurjant Singh from Khalehra said, “We want to congratulate the entire team as well as sports lovers for the win.” He said that the entire village is celebrating the victory and hopes that more hockey players would represent the state and national team in the coming years.
Celebrations also broke out at the house of Shamsher Singh of Attari village as the Indian squad won bronze for the second consecutive Olympics.
