Sangha appointed Umpire Manager in Hockey Men's Junior World Cup

Gurinder Singh Sangha from Jalandhar has been appointed as an Umpire Manager to the FIH Hockey Men's Junior World Cup that is going to be held in Tamil Nadu from November 28 to December 10.

Sangha, while talking to The Tribune, said he was the first Indian to be appointed as Umpire Manager at the World Cup. "I cannot express my happiness in words," he said.

Sangha is a physical education lecturer at Olympian Manpreet Singh Government Senior Secondary School, Mithapur. His contribution to the field of hockey is praiseworthy.

The International Hockey Federation (IHF) had also appointed Sangha as the Umpire Manager for the Junior Asia Cup recently. The event was held in Oman from November 26 to December 4 last year. He was also the Umpire Manager for the 19th Asian Games and was declared the Umpire Manager for 2022. Sangha has served in prominent international games like the Asian Games, Olympic qualifiers and Asia Cup.

"The day I am taken out of the ground is the day I will breathe my last,” said Sangha, expressing his passion, love and admiration for the sport. The 53-year-old international hockey umpire hails from Jandu Sangha in the city.

He started playing when he was 13. He studied at Doaba Khalsa Senior Secondary School and played at the school, district, state and national levels.

Sangha’s father, who was in the Air Force, was also an international-level hockey player. “I also wanted to represent my country but because for some reasons, I couldn’t do it. That hurt me a lot, but I didn’t want to leave sports. So, I decided to take up teaching and coaching,” he told The Tribune.

He has already added several feathers to his cap by winning many accolades.

In 2018, the IHF appointed him as an international hockey Umpire Manager so that he could guide and train new umpires. He has been serving as a member of Hockey India’s technical and umpiring committee for years.

He has also given training to international hockey player Olympians Sukhjit Singh, Hardik Singh and Jarmanpreet Singh. “Game ne mainu bahut kuch ditta hai (This game has given me a lot). I will never leave it, no matter what,” he said.

Sangha has also been serving as member of Hockey India’s Technical and Umpiring Committee for the last eight years.

"As umpire, I have taken part in approximately 80 international matches and have also attended many big tournaments all over the world," he shared.

Now he has been representing the country in different international tournaments around the globe as an Umpire Manager.