Gurjot rode a bicycle kutcha village road, Husainabad — a mere dot on the map of rural India in Nakodar tehsil of Jalandhar district in Punjab — when the bike hit him.girl‘ (manual flour mill) plunged on the side of the road. He passed out in a pool of blood. Biker and his friend picked up Gurjot and took him to the nearest medical facility.
When the news reached Gurjot’s house, his parents went out to work. The two sisters, who were in a panic, didn’t know what to do. But luckily the situation is not wrong. The doctors were worried about the massive blood loss and told the parents that it would take some time before they could recover.
Headaches make recovery difficult. Cycling about four kilometers to the government school in the neighboring village of Sarinh is a chore for small children.
Gurjot struggled for four years, until he laid hands on a hockey stick
But the road he traveled over the next few years from Husainabad to China posed challenges that included working as a laborer in a ‘chappal’ factory.
“I was mischievous, a lot of accidents,” said Gurjot, speaking to Timesofindia.com two days after making his debut for the senior Indian team in Asian Champions Cup in China.
“After I was also hit on the head with a bat while playing cricket,” he added, with a touch of adolescent innocence.
Gurjot is now 19, but the horror of that day is still fresh in his mind.
“It was serious. I became weak,” he recalled. “The doctor told my parents, ‘whenever he will focus on something, fix his gaze on a book or the phone screen, then he can get a headache.’ So I have to take care of it.”
It takes years to recover, and parents are always worried.
HOW HOCKEY BEGINS
It was the only one-room house in Husainabad, where his family of five – Gurjot, his mother, father and two sisters – lived.
His father, the sole breadwinner in the family, worked as a milkman. He even tried his luck to live in Italy. He didn’t succeed and went home, but he was in debt.
(Gurjot with his parents – Photo: TOI arrangement)
“He doesn’t have a cow. Bapu (father) used to supply milk to the shopkeeper,” said Gurjot. “He came back from Italy about 6 months ago. Because of that, we are in debt because he borrowed money from his uncle.”
In the midst of these struggles, Gurjot reached the seventh standard. The remaining headache problem is more or less resolved. It was then that he was introduced to hockey for the first time.
But the next obstacle was his parents’ unwillingness to stick to a strict school-home-home schedule every day as he shuttled back and forth between Husainabad and Sarinh.
It is about 4 km one way.
“Parents no longer allow traveling for hockey and return after dark, around 8-9 pm, which is not safe in the village,” said Gurjot.
“But mainu chaa hi bada siga (I really like to play). It took me 6-7 months to convince my parents to let me go. One day I cried a lot. I said ‘mai roti nahi khaani, mainu jaan do ‘ (I don’t eat , let’s go).
“Then they agreed.”
(Photo: TOI arrangement)
‘Nobody’s holding hands’
The club in Sarinh used to deal with village players’ hockey sticks, uniforms, shoes, etc. Five or six of Gurjot’s friends from Husainabad also played. But all of them miss out on proper guidance on how to achieve their ambitions in the sport.
“Until standard 12, I played in Sarinh. But I didn’t have much support or much knowledge or guidance on how to progress,” said Gurjot. “No one held hands; all my friends who started playing with me also left the sport.”
With no future in the sport, Gurjot also decided to put down the stick at the insistence of his parents.
Then, Covid hit the world.
“In the lock, I started looking for a job because of the situation.”
That landed a promising hockey player in a ‘chappal’ factory (slipper manufacturing unit), boxing footwear. But Gurjot’s love for the sport has not died.
“Time to take the sandals from the machine and pack them in the box. No leaves are allowed, I work the night shift, so I have time to practice in the morning.
“But to be honest, it’s hard to do without sleep,” he said.
HOCKEY offers other opportunities
Khalsa College, Jalandhar, announced a trial to select hockey players.
Gurjot wasn’t too sure, but on the advice of his friends, he decided to appear in the trial. And it started working out.
“I walked right in after my night shift at the factory, and got picked. I was offered college dorms and free food. My family said there’s no charge and you want to play hockey too, so go ahead. start playing again.”
Happiness returned to Gurjot’s voice as he continued.
An extra perk of playing for the Khalsa College team is that the same players also go on to play for the national department representing Punjab & Sind Bank as part of the tie-up between the two institutions. So Gurjot’s dream of getting a job after playing nationals is alive again.
However, the happiness was short-lived.
“The year I entered Khalsa College, the residents of the same season’s department were dismissed,” said Gurjot. “I don’t know and feel like I’m at a crossroads again.”
LUCKY CARD
Wondering what to do next, Gurjot entered a local tournament in Moga. It’s 2021. On the opposite team are Sukhjeet Singh and Abhishek, who plays for India and is now Gurjot’s teammate in the senior national team.
Gurjot was pulled up by the referee for a foul and shown a card. He jogged out of the field to sit on a chair near the technical bench.
“Someone walked up to me while I was waiting for a minute of delay so I could join the team on the field,” Gurjot said.
“I was short, and still quite weak at that time. The man asked me, ‘Kinni umar hai teri (how old are you)?’ I told him, ‘Tomorrow morning the Round Glass academy is conducting a trial in the PAP (Punjab Armed Police) field.
“The same night I returned home from Moga and in the morning took the train to the PAP field in Jalandhar,” added Gurjot.
Gurjot’s 100% record in selection trials continues, and he finds himself in the Round Glass jersey.
(Photo: TOI Arrangement)
The Round Glass organization emerged in 2014, founded by US-based Indian entrepreneur Sunny Gurpreet Singh. Under his auspices there are hockey and football academies, and teams also participate in national championships and leagues.
“My coach then was Balwinder Singh, the father of striker Dilpreet Singh who has played for India,” said Gurjot. “I played my first nationals with Round Glass … They never saw where I came from or that I had never played at the national level before; they just saw my game and thought it was good.”
The hockey program at Round Glass is now overseen by former Indian player and coach Rajinder Singh Sr.
The kick started Gurjot’s journey in the blue jersey when he got a call to join the Indian junior camp after being spotted by Syed Ali, a member of Hockey India’s High Performance and Development Committee at the Hockey India Academy Championship.
“I scored a few goals in the tournament; we finished fourth. From there, I was selected for the junior India camp,” said Gurjot.
The villagers give the hero a welcome homecoming. He was the first and only hockey player to play in the national championship from his village that never had a field.
(Photo: TOI arrangement)
They garlanded him as dhol beats reverberated around Husainabad, and three of the children wearing sports kits and elders walked through the village in celebration, with Gurjot in the middle.
The scene is set to repeat once Gurjot returns from the Asian Champions Trophy. Most of them don’t come home from the training camp in Bengaluru, because they believe it can take away their focus.
Gurjot prefers to exercise even when his friends go home during breaks.
‘CHAK DE, SHOW YOUR GAME’
Gurjot’s debut for the senior team came against hosts China. India won 3-1. Gurjot didn’t do anything that made news, but he brought home a lot of stories.
“Harman bhaji (captain Harmanpreet) said to me, ‘Chakk de, jo vi haiga dikha de. Appa tere naal haan, darna nahi (Come on, show your skills, we are with you, don’t be nervous or afraid). “Remembers Gurjot.
The 19-year-old striker doesn’t deny having butterflies in his stomach, but he played well against India’s 10 Paris Olympics bronze medalists.
Gurjot was worried about one thing.
“I’m nervous to play with all the big players. It’s the first time. I’m worried about how my mistakes will be seen, what will be the reaction,” he said.
But this nervousness was better than the fear that caused the headaches that robbed Gurjot of his childhood.
Today, Gurjot has completed his schooling, is in the middle of graduating (Bachelor of Physical Education) and playing hockey for India. The government job he always wanted was not far away.
A boy from Hussainabad has fulfilled his dream.
