Hockey nurseries that make them young: The Tribune India

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 9

Five district players on both men’s and women’s national teams is no bad achievement!

Most people today ask, why not one or two, but five players from one district on national teams? The answer is that hockey academies gather novice players to be young and prepare them for national and international championships.

These five players are Shamsher Singh from Attar Village, Dilpreet Singh from Butala, Gurjant Singh from Khaliara Village and Harmanpreet Singh from Timmowal Village. In addition, Gurjit Kaur, the attraction of Ajnala, was made by the village of Miadi Kalan, who had learned the nuances of the game from Government School, a village in Cairo, in the Tarn Taran area. Gurjant, Dilpreet and Shamsher were all products of hockey academies.

Dilpreet and Shamsher learned the basics of the game from the local Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hockey Academy (MRSHA), which was founded in 2005 by veteran hockey, friends and enthusiasts to promote hockey in the area. To date, the Academy has trained 700 players. Each year, 60 players in the age group of 12 to 19 years are selected for the academy and given free training, books, and uniforms from Spring Dale Senior School. The academy spends 23-27 million rubles a year on players. To date, the Academy has produced 150 national players and seven international players, including three Olympics – Shamsher, Dilpreet and Ramandeep Singh, who played at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Academy coach Kuljit Singh Bamrah recalled that Dilpreet was in the Academy from grades VI to IX. Shamsher studied hockey at the Academy while studying in classes VI and VII.

Dilpreet’s father, Balwinder Singh, who had played for citizens between 1990 and 1996, said: “My son started playing hockey at the Baba Palha Sports Club and the Hockey Academy run by the Social Welfare Society in the village of Butala. The academy produced more than 30 national and international players. Of these players, 20 got state jobs because of hockey.

Similarly, Guriant’s father Baldev Singh said that hockey was not played in their village – Khaliara. When he learned his interest in hockey, he was admitted to Cheema Hockey Academy, Shahbad Village, Batal, Class V and he learned the basics for a year and a half.

Harmanpreet’s father, Sarbjit Singh, recalled that sports coach Joginder Singh Dhillon suggested he train him in sports when he saw him play hockey when he was in class V.

Preparing game enthusiasts for national, international championships

• Five players from the district – Shamsher Singh from Attar Village, Dilpreet Singh from Butala, Gurjant Singh from Khaliara Village and Harmanpreet Singh from Timmowal Village – were part of the Olympic Indian Hockey National Team.
• In addition, Gurjit Kaur, an Indian women’s group from Miadi Kalan in Ajnala Tehsil, learned the nuances of the game from Govt School, Cairon Village, Tarn Taran.
• Gurjant, Dilpreet and Shamsher were all products of hockey academies.