Harjeet was also adjudged as the best player in U-21 Sultan of Johor Cup in 2013, and has also featured in the senior Indian team. “While he plays for the junior and senior team, the family makes sure that there is no shortage of training kits. Initially, he would borrow hockey sticks from fellow senior players and coach Amritpal, and there has been no support from the Punjab government for Harjeet till now. Hockey India awarded him Rs 1 lakh in 2013 and that was also a big amount for us,” said Harjeet’s cousin, 20-year-old Hardeep Singh.
Sunday also saw the former Chandigarh Hockey and Football Academy trainee Gurjant Singh scoring the opening goal in the eighth minute in the final. Gurjant, who passed out from CHFA in 2011, belongs to Raiya in Amritsar and now trains with PIS Surjit Hockey Academy Centre in Jalandhar, an academy from which ten players have featured in the 18-member Indian winning team. Drag-flicker Harmanpreet of Amritsar, too, studies in DAV College, Chandigarh. “It has been one of the best batches for us. From Harjeet, Harmanpreet, Mandeep to Gurjant and others, all train at the Academy in Jalandhar and it is one of the best moments for us in hockey,” shared PIS Surjit Hockey Academy coach 54-year-old Avtar Singh, while talking from Lucknow.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:)
