There is no denying that the Indian media has been giving non-stop coverage to cricket than any other sport in the country. Hockey is the national sport of India but it is really sad to see players failing to hog the limelight just like the cricketers.
Especially a player like Sardar Singh deserves to be afforded due respect for his ultimate contribution to the team. He is the former captain of the Indian hockey team.
Why do we fail to praise our hero Sardar Singh? We all give more importance to cricket but not other sports. In fact, all the personalities represent India with pride. The former veteran defensive mid-fielder Sardar Singh is known for the knack of playing a good brand of hockey and he is also known to bolster the team’s attack.
He plays the centre half position. He became the youngest player to steer the Indian team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. Moreover, he is also an Asian Games gold medallist.
Hailing from Haryana, Sardar’s father was a doctor and his mother a homemaker. Sardar Singh developed a penchant for hockey in his young age itself. It was his mother who spotted his talent when he was a kid. After knowing that her son is working beyond the bounds of possibility to play the sport, she even borrowed money to afford him the complete hockey equipment so that he could practice and that much-needed sacrifice reaped him rewards in the long run.
His incredible talent helped him earn a spot in the junior team and in 2006 he made his senior debut against Pakistan. In 2008, he was asked to captain the side and became the youngest captain of the Indian national team.
He was also an integral part of some successful campaigns for the team. With 2 Commonwealth Games silvers, 1 gold and silver in Asian Champions Trophy, a Champions Trophy silver, 2 gold medals along with a silver in the Asia Cup along with 1 gold and 2 bronze at the Asian Games, he did complete justice to his role in the team.
It is worth mentioning here that Sardar was also the highest-paid marquee player when he was purchased for USD 78,000 by Delhi Waveriders in the Hockey India League and much to everyone’s expectations, Sardar was the Player of the Tournament. Sardar has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award along with the Padma Shri Award. He called curtains on his international hockey career in 2018 but he is still playing at club level.
Sardar Singh also made the headlines for his extraordinary tale of fitness. Sardar Singh proved that he is the worth the weight in gold when he accumulated a flamboyant score of 21.4 points in the Yo-Yo fitness test, an incredible score which is rated higher than all the reported scores of the players of the Indian cricket team.
People were stunned after seeing Sardar Singh’s score which was comparatively higher than Indian cricketers. Even Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli was short of Sardar Singh’s test score. It is well known that Kohli is the fittest player as he keeps hitting the gyms more often than not but Sardar Singh still beat him by 2.4 points. Isn’t it a great achievement?
Yo-yo test is a parameter in which every athlete is supposed to go through a fitness test where each athlete’s fitness standards are determined. Only those who manage to pass the test are allowed to be a part of the team. Virat Kohli, who is deemed one of the best athletes in India has managed to score 19 points.