New Delhi [India], October 11 (ANI): The sport of hockey has all the time been very particular for the Indian sporting fraternity.
Captain of the Indian males’s hockey crew, Harmanpreet Singh, is taken into account one of many trendy legends of the sport. He derives his inspiration from the yesteryears, most notably from the tales of the 1948 London Olympics, the place India defeated Great Britain 4-0 within the ultimate, to clinch a historic Gold Medal, a yr after the nation gained Independence. This was the primary time ever that the Indian flag was hoisted on the Olympics.
Looking again at Independent India’s first Hockey Gold Medal on the Olympic Games, Harmanpreet Singh mentioned as quoted by the Hockey India press launch, ‘When India gained the Gold Medal on the 1948 London Olympics, it was an enormous second for the nation, particularly as a result of we defeated Great Britain, on their turf. We have solely heard tales from our seniors about that historic day, and personally, it’s a very inspiring second for me as a member of the Indian hockey fraternity.’
Harmanpreet Singh, who has been a part of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team that gained consecutive Bronze Medals on the Tokyo Olympics and the Paris Olympics, has beforehand interacted with the legendary Balbir Singh Sr, an important cog within the wheel of the Indian crew in the course of the 1948 London Olympics.
Recalling these particular moments, Harmanpreet mentioned, ‘Meeting the legendary Balbir Singh Sr. was certainly extraordinarily particular, and to listen to from him in regards to the London Olympics was much more great. The first-hand expertise for the gamers is one thing distinctive. To take heed to tales of the British crowd cheering for the Indian Men’s Hockey Team in London, at the moment, gave me goosebumps. It is unimaginable how pleased and good the gamers should have felt in the course of the event.’
At the 1948 London Olympics, India defeated Austria, Argentina and Spain within the group levels after which the Netherlands, earlier than profitable the Gold Medal in some type by seeing off Great Britain. For Harmanpreet and co, the following Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 current one other probability so as to add to the tally of medals for the nation.
‘We have made the rostrum twice and seen the flag go up on the Olympic Games, however our dream is to go one higher. The Indian Men’s Hockey Team may be very wanting to take heed to the National Anthem on the Olympic Games, identical to Kishan Lal and Balbir Singh Sr’s crew did in London. And for that, we’ll depart no stone unturned in our preparations,’ the skipper mentioned.
‘Hockey and India have loads of historical past, and we wish to be the crew so as to add the ninth Gold medal. It would certainly be very particular for us. And I’m certain that with the blessings of our seniors, we’ll do nicely on the pitch,’ Harmanpreet Singh concluded.
Hockey India, within the days to come back, will share extra such nostalgic tales from the icons of yesteryear, with the intention of reliving the historic contributions made by the legends of the game that put India on the world sporting map over the previous 100 years. (ANI)