Bangalore: Junior World Cup-winning hockey striker Gurjant Singh can’t wait to take the field in the Tokyo Olympics. Gurjant Singh had missed the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games due to injuries and a subsequent slump in form. Now Gurjant wants to prove himself against the top teams in the Tokyo Olympics. The 26-year-old forward from Punjab’s Amritsar is a part of 16-member Indian men’s hockey team.
“I missed the Asian Games and World Cup due to injuries. I had to sit back and follow the team from home and that was really painful. But I am hopeful I will make this opportunity count in Tokyo. We are all set for the challenge,” Gurjant said Tuesday.
Gurjant made his first appearance for the senior team in 2017 against Belgium. Later that year, he also played at the Hero Asia Cup in Dhaka which India won. However, slump in form saw him miss the 2018 Commonwealth Games as well as the Asian Games. He was also dropped from the FIH Men’s World Cup squad due to an injury that year.
“I was picked for the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat where I scored four goals. However, it was not until 2020 that I started proving my mettle in the squad,” Gurjant informed.
“The goal I scored against the Netherlands in the FIH Hockey Pro League happened to the quickest goal for India. It was also voted as the second-best FIH Hockey Pro League goal of 2020 by fans,” Gurjant added.
Known as a big match player, Gurjant scored in the semifinal and final en route to the FIH Junior Men’s World Cup title in 2016. Till date, he considers that as the greatest feat of his career.
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“I will never forget 18 December 2016. That is the day we won the Junior World Cup title. So far, it’s been the greatest feat in my career. It was after this great win that people started noticing me,” he informed.
There were hardly any tours because of the coronavirus-forced worldwide lockdown. So the Indian players were mostly confined to their national camp here last year. The striker said he utilised the time to work on his defensive technique.
“One of the key areas chief coach Graham Reid expected me to work on was my defence. He insists that good defence begins with the forwards and I really paid a lot of attention to improve my off-ball skills over the past year,” Gurjant signed off.
