Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 13

The Bronze medal won by the Indian hockey team in the Olympics has made everyone proud and also revived the sport in the district. The stellar contribution of the Surjit Hockey Academy in turning the hockey players into Olympians has been hailed by several parents in the city who now want their kids to seek training for hockey here.

All of these players first took their training in the Surjit Hockey Stadium. After the Olympics win, the academy has been getting several calls from the parents wanting their kid to pursue hockey. “Not only Punjab, I have also been receiving calls from other states too,” said Iqbal Singh Sandhu, general secretary of the society.

“At present, 100 budding and young players have been taking training at the stadium. But after the Olympics, it seems that the urge to pursue hockey has increased, both among the parents and kids,” he said, adding that when people see these players who started their journeys from Surjit Hockey Academy, representing their country, winning medal, getting recognition, accolades, prize money and jobs, they feel motivated to involve their kids in sports.

Sandhu said until now, he has received over 50 calls from various parts of Punjab and other states. “This is the magic spelled by the Olympics,” said another office-bearer.

When the players had got selected for Olympics, Manjit Kaur, mother of the Indian hockey captain Manpreet Singh had also visited the stadium and had said she was very happy to visit the Surjit Hockey Academy as her Manpreet learnt the tricks of hockey here.

Sandhu said since the government has also given the approval to start training for girls from the next session, a hostel for the girls near the Surjit Hockey Stadium will also be renovated with an amount of Rs 85 lakh.