Not many people get a second chance in their career but fate has been kind to Indian Men’s hockey team’s new sensation Sukhjeet Singh. The youngster received his first senior team call-up back in 2018 but as he was super excited to join the senior team camp, he suffered an intense back injury during a recovery session and was drawn out of the 33-men Indian squad.
It was a very tough phase for Sukhjeet as he fought his way back from injury to come back in contention for the Men in Blue. Sukhjeet made his India debut in the recent FIH Hockey Pro League match against Spain. Reminiscing his days of struggle, he said, “It was a very bad phase of my life. I was bed-ridden for almost five months and the recovery process was very challenging. Whenever I felt like I was losing hope of making a comeback in hockey, my family and friends stood by me to support me and motivate me. They always believed I had it in me to make India cut someday.”
His father Ajit Singh inspired him to play hockey as he started playing the sport at the tender age of six. He came up through the ranks at the Jalandhar Academy before moving to Mohali to hone up his skills.
The forward plied his trade for teams like Sindh Bank, Punjab Police and Indian Oil before he could get a permanent placement in Punjab National Bank. “From 2017, I have been playing for Punjab National Bank and started getting recognised for my game. Though I lost a chance in 2018, I was determined to make it back to the camp and worked really hard on my game and fitness.”
He is ecstatic to finally make his debut for the Men in Blue at the iconic Kalinga Stadium. He believes that with great hard work he can achieve greater heights and play for India more consistently in tournaments like the Asia Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games apart from FIH Pro League matches.
“When I came into the camp earlier this year, I had to work on understanding the structure of how the Senior team plays and I would often pick Mandeep and Lalit’s brains. I would ask them questions about the structure the forward line maintains and they were very helpful in getting me up to speed. It feels great that I got a chance to play for India and I look forward to making this opportunity count,” Sukhjeet concluded.
