Hockey, FIH Pro League: How Sukhjeet Singh overcame physical and mental battles to earn India spot
The 28-year-old Punjab-native has grown to become an important cog in the attacking line of the Indian senior men’s team.
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Sukhjeet Singh had a few mountains to climb before he could get into the senior India men’s hockey team.
In 2018, then 22, Singh was included in a probables camp for the senior team. But just as he had started to hope to break into the squad, a freak back injury resulted in temporary paralysis of his right leg. From getting close to earning his first India cap, the dream had been put on hold.
It took him four years to get that call-up. And when he took to the field against Spain, on his India debut in the 2021-22 FIH Pro League season, he managed to find the back of the net.
Since his debut, the 28-year-old forward has played for the national team at the 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneshwar, and was a part of the gold-medal winning teams that played at the Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2023 and the Hangzhou Asian Games last year.
“I had said earlier that we would win the gold medal and we did just that,” said an ecstatic Singh, in conversation with Scroll.
The Asian Games gold medal meant that the Indian men’s team had booked a direct berth for the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Now, as he prepares...
