Majha makes its presence felt in Oly

Gurdaspur’s Simranjeet opened the account and sealed the bronze with winning goal

GS Paul

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 5

The five hockey players from the Majha region in the Indian team that grabbed the Olympics bronze medal after four decades have made their presence felt on Tokyo’s turf.

The feat has put their obscure native villages on the global map. The elated family members distributed sweets and celebrated the occasion to the beats of the dhol.

Simranjeet Singh belongs to Gurdaspur’s Chahal Kalan village whereas the four from Amritsar district are Gurjant Singh of Khaliara village, Harmanpreet Singh of Timmowal village, Dilpreet Singh of Butala and Shamsher Singh of Attari. Simranjeet (25) and Gurjant (26), both cousins, played together in the team.

It was Simranjeet who opened the account of the team with a field goal and interestingly, sealed the victory with the winning goal against four-time champions Germany (5-4).

His paternal uncle Rashpal Singh Chahal said Simranjeet’s parents lived in UP, but he was brought up in village Chahal Kalan only. “Since the age of 6-7, he has lived with us here. He was dedicated to hockey and played for hours in local grounds, so I got him admitted to Shahbad hockey academy, followed by Surjit Academy in Jalandhar,” he said.

Gurjant’s father Baldev Singh said both the players got inspiration from their uncle Hardev Singh Chahal who was a national hockey player (1985-1990).

“Gurjant is my only son. I never compromised when it came to his training, which he took at a hockey academy in Chandigarh. Both of them played many tourneys, including the 2016 junior World Cup, together. We are proud of their achievement,” he said.

Similarly, Harmanpreet Singh’s father Sarbjeet Singh was glad that his son contributed to the team by converting the penalty corner. After the team’s win, Timmewal villagers burst firecrackers and took to the streets to celebrate. He said Harmanpreet’s inspiration was former drag-flicker Jugraj Singh, who is now ADCP (detective) in Amritsar Police.

“Harmanpreet had gained the attention of the school coach at a very tender age of nine with his skills on the turf. His coach inspired me to let him take professional training. I managed to spare money for his training through my meagre resources. He took training in Surjit academy in Jalandhar. He learnt the knack of drag flicking from Jugraj, who also happened to be our relative”, he said.

Identical was the atmosphere in Dilpreet’s village Butala. His father Balwinder Singh said a ‘marriage-like’ atmosphere was created in the village due to my son’s achievement. “It appeared as if it was my son’s wedding today. We are loaded with congratulatory messages and frequent visits by relatives. We are all proud of Team India”, he said.

However, the atmosphere at Shamsher’s home at Attari was contrary. The reason was the sudden demise of a member in the family. However, some residents celebrated the occasion on the street.