Indian hockey skipper Harmanpreet Singh dedicates Asia Cup win to flood victims

Harmanpreet Singh, captain of Asia Cup-winning Indian men’s hockey team, dedicated the victory to flood victims as he, along with his six teammates, landed at the Sri Guru Ramdass Jee International Airport here on Monday.

They were accorded a warm welcome by their parents, hockey fans and SGPC officials at the airport. No representative of the government or district administration came to receive the team members.

Office-bearers of Hockey Punjab came to welcome them. Its executive member Gurmeet Singh Meeta said no government representative came to receive the team as they may be busy in flood and rehabilitation efforts.

Team India clinched the Asia Cup after trouncing South Korea 4-1 in the final played at Rajgir. Punjab emerged as the backbone of India’s Asia Cup victory with nine players in the squad. Among them, five hail from Jalandhar and four from Amritsar.

The nine players from Punjab who played a pivotal role in India’s success include Harmanpreet, Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Jugraj Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh and goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak.

A wave of happiness swept across Timmowal village, which is situated about 10 km from the holy city on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road, after its son Harmanpreet led India to another victory which qualified India for the 2026 World Cup to be played in the Netherlands and Belgium.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Harmanpreet as ‘Sarpanch’ in a phone call made after his team secured the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics last year following their victory over Spain in a play-off match, he become popular as Sarpanch on social media.

His journey has been stupendous from Punjab’s farms to the Olympics. Born in a farming family in Punjab, he grew up helping his father in the fields and at 15 years, joined the Indian junior hockey team. Dropped from several tournaments, he cemented his place in the Indian team till he became the go-to man for penalty corners.

Hockey Punjab president and Hockey India Vice-President Nitin Kohli congratulated the team for winning Asia Cup 2025. He said, "Congratulations to all hockey fraternity, especially Hockey Punjab. I dedicate the Asia Cup win to Punjab that has been going through a tough phase as parts of Punjab are under the grip of floods. Along with players, we will surely do something for Punjab flood victims who have lost their family members.”

“The coming days seem bright for Indian hockey. We (Hockey Punjab) have tied up for the next 10 years with RoundGlass who are investing Rs 2,500 crore for development of hockey in Punjab," added Kohli.