Timmowal village celebrates Khel Ratna to Harmanpreet

A wave of happiness ran across Timmowal village after Indian Hockey Captain Harmanpreet Singh received the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award from President Droupadi Murmu in a glittering National Sports Award ceremony in New Delhi recently.

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Talking to Amritsar Tribune over phone, Harmanpreet — who led the Indian men’s team to a second successive bronze medal in the Paris Olympics in last year — said it was a dream come true for him as the award is named after the greatest hockey player, the legendary Major Dhyan Chand.

At his house in Timmowal village, situated on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road, his father Sarbjit Singh said the entire family was proud at his achievement, which was the outcome of his hard work on field and continuous performance.

His elder brother Kamalpreet Singh said his industriousness and perseverance on the hockey ground paid off. He recalled that in October he was tagged as the most expensive buy at Rs 78 lakh for the auction of the Hockey India League. Constant accolades are proof of his performance with the hockey stick.

Veteran left winger Brig Harcharan Singh (retired), VSM and Arjuna awardee, a medal winner hockey Olympian and Gold medallist in World Hockey Cup 1975, said, “As far as players from Punjab are concerned, captain Harmanpreet Singh, who has been twice declared the player of the year by FIH, remained the highest goal scorer in the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Earning the Khel Ratna award would infuse in him a spirit to further scale heights in his game.”

Harmanpreet’s stellar captaincy earned him the nickname Sarpanch, which was promptly picked up by netizens. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed him as ‘Sarpanch’ in a phone call made after his team secured the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics, the title become popular on social media.

His journey has been stupendous from Punjab’s farms to Olympics. Born in a farming family in Punjab, he grew up helping his father in the fields to join the Indian junior hockey team at 15.

Dropped from several tournaments, he cemented his place in the Indian team till he became the go-to man for penalty corners.