Jalandhar: In June, when the Surjit Hockey Academy in Jalandhar announced that eight of the 18 players in the Indian men’s squad for the Tokyo Olympics were from its academy, few could have predicted that the country's 41-year medal drought in the sport would soon end.

India had lost won a medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, winning gold in men’s hockey. That was the time when the famous Sansarpur village adjoining the Jalandhar Cantonment was known as the ‘Mecca of Hockey’ and produced 15 Olympians who represented not just India but also Kenya and Canada and produced over 300 international and national players.

Slowly, the glory faded. In Punjab, cricket's popularity grew by leaps and bounds and hockey started falling behind. This was compounded by the lack of support for the sport from the Union and state governments. Even for those with an interest in the sport, the avenues began shrinking.

Despite these challenges, the sport's revival at the grassroots level in Punjab had made slow but steady progress. Hockey academies, lesser-known annual tournaments, setting up of grounds and six-a-side astroturfs in villages meant that the sport once again became popular.

Olympian Pargat Singh’s instrumental role

The major push for hockey came around 2005, when Punjab's then director of sports, Olympian Pargat Singh, started identifying villages where hockey had traditionally been popular. Pargat Singh got eight full astroturfs and 25 six-a-side turfs laid in various villages.

Talking to The Wire, Singh, who is now the Congress MLA from the Jalandhar Cantonment constituency, was elated. “India won a medal in hockey after 41 years and Punjab played a major role in it. I am glad that the efforts made through a sustained process to identify select pockets in rural Punjab, providing equipment, coaches, giving training and creating infrastructure by laying turfs have borne fruit,” he said.

Pargat Singh, who captained the Indian men's hockey team in the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympics, also pointed out that the Surjit Hockey Academy had played an instrumental role by training players from a young age. “This is where potential players from villages and humble family backgrounds get a launchpad,” he said.

He said that India’s sports budget, if compared with top countries across the world, is 10-15% smaller. "Countries that have earned a name in sports keep an eye on future sports events and prepare the budget. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in India. And as far as Punjab is concerned, we have the social problem of drugs in our society, which can’t be ignored. But still, it’s a new dawn and the beginning of a new chapter in Indian hockey,” he added.

Pargat Singh hails from Mithapur village, where the current hockey team's skipper Manpreet Singh, forward Mandeep Singh and defender Varun Kumar were born.

Surjit Hockey Academy

The Surjit Hockey Academy’s chief coach Avtar Singh Pinka said it is a matter of great pride for the academy to send eight male players to the Olympics. “First, Harmanpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh were selected for the Indian team. Later, Simranjit Singh and Krishna Pathak were also included in the squad as stand by players. As they are from the same academy, they shared a telepathic understanding of each other’s game, which benefitted them,” he said.

Avtar Singh, coach Gurdev Singh and physical trainer Jaspreet Singh select the best talent from the villages like Mithapur, Khusropur, Sansarpur, Kukar Pind, Dhanowali in Jalandhar. They also select players from Amritsar, Gurdaspur and other districts of Punjab and hone their skills. "Besides, this, some boys also join hockey academies in Ludhiana and Mohali," he said.

He attributed the revival of hockey at the grassroots level to Pargat Singh and said that his vision to identify villages where good players exist and then provide them with coaches and kits has proved to be a success.

The coach also said that the annual Surjit Hockey tournament is also an opportunity to discover talent. Other tournaments like the annual Mohinder Munshi Hockey tournament and the All India Balwant Singh Kapur Memorial Hockey tournament also provide opportunities to budding players.

Avtar Singh lauded the Punjab government’s decision to award Rs 1 crore to each players from Punjab but said that coaches, who spend eight-ten years to make a player, should also be honoured.

The Surjit Hockey ground is undergoing renovation, as a new astroturf at a cost of Rs 5 crore was being laid by the Punjab government. The old turf would be allocated to six-a-side games for colleges and villages. Because of COVID-19, the academy was forced to close. It had 25 players from colleges and over 100 from schools under different age groups.

Notably, the Surjit Hockey tournament is held in memory of Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa, who died in a car accident on January 7, 1984. He was coming back from Gurdaspur after holding a meeting for a ‘benefit match’ to be held between India and Pakistan when the tragedy struck.

Hockey teams from Pakistan, like the Javed Hockey Club Gojra, Asif Bajwa Hockey Club, Sialkot and others, had taken part in some editions of the Surjit Hockey tournament. After relations between the two countries soured, no Pakistani team has played in the tournament in the recent past.

Iqbal Singh Sandhu, a retired Punjab government official and the organising secretary of the Surjit Hockey Society, said another astroturf would be established as part of the 'Smart City Project' in the same sports complex.

Also Read: In India's Hockey Resurgence, Naveen Patnaik Has Been a Crucial Scorer

Olympians and experts celebrate medal

Overjoyed by the Indian men’s victory, former inspector general (IG) of Punjab and Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi, who is from Jalandhar and played in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, said, “It might be a bronze medal for the world, but for me it is gold only." He said that the victory signals the revival of hockey in the country. He said that the victory is made sweeter by the fact that many of the players were trained by him and others in Punjab.

Prabhjot Singh, a journalist formerly with The Tribune who has extensively covered hockey, also congratulated hockey fans. He said despite the lack of government support, the men won a medal and ended the 41-year wait.

He said that in the past, Sansarpur was known to produce the highest number of hockey Olympians. "Because of rapid urbanisation, the game lost its base from the village. However, Mithapur village gave three players,” he said.

Prabhjot Singh said that when it comes to the women's team, Haryana takes the lead. “The hockey academy at Shahbad Markanda in Haryana alone emerges as the torch-bearer of women’s hockey, besides a couple of other academies." He said the sport has provided opportunities for women from humble backgrounds, and those from marginalised tribal communities. "Whether it is Rani Rampal or the famous Saini sisters – Rupa Saini, Krishna Saini, Swarna Saini and Prema Saini, it is players from the grassroots level who have succeeded,” he said.

Balwinder Singh, a coach at the Mithapur Hockey Academy, was on cloud nine. “It is a big day for Indian hockey and the boys from our village have scripted history. They all are the product of Mithapur and Surjit academies. But, now our players are also getting support from the RoundGlass Hockey Academy, a venture of a US-based NRI in Mohali, which is providing world-class sports kits worth Rs 25,000 each to our players,” he said.

He also said that as MLA Pargat Singh hails from Mithapur, they were looking forward to the laying of astroturf at the Mithapur academy. “Our village is getting global attention and we are hopeful the development to come in the future,” he added.

Sansapur Hockey Academy coach Gurpreet Singh, who recently started training 55 players in the under-12 age group, said that though the village still has the potential to create world-class players, it has lost its sheen.

The Sansarpur Hockey Association boasts of a stellar record of 15 Olympic and 12 Asian medals.

“The lack of astroturf is the biggest problem. All that we have is six-a-side ground, thanks to the efforts of Pargat Singh. Even recently, we got a grant of Rs 11 lakh from him, with which we completed some pending work,” he said.

Gurpreet Singh said that the last player with roots in Sansarpur to play at the Olympics was Bindi Kular, who represented Canada in the 2008 Olympics. “Since then, there has been no major name that emerged from our village. Today, nearly all men hockey players in Punjab are the product of Surjit Hockey academy,” he said.

Celebrations at Mithapur village

After India won the bronze, Manpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh and Varun’s families in Mithapur started celebrating the historic win. Olympians, international and national players also congratulated the families and relived their memories of past victories.

When Manpreet Singh’s mother Manjit Kaur spoke to her son on a video call, she could not control her tears of joy. “My son played so well. I kept praying during the match and I am thanking the almighty now. India won bronze after 41 years, it such a big achievement. In the next Olympics, the team will win a gold,” she said.

Mandeep’s and Varun’s parents also reached Manpreet’s house and danced to the tunes of dholi. Other residents of the village also joined the celebrations. The feeling of victory and joy was yet to sink in.

Kusum Arora is an independent journalist.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.