Indian Hockey Player Simranjeet Singh Shares his Story to Winning a Medal on Mypencildotcom

MYPENCILDOTCOM: When and how you realize that you’ve interest in hockey?

Simranjeet: Basically, my family background is connected with hockey. My uncle and elder brother are also hockey players.I’m from Batala, Gurdaspur, and it is said that every child from this place is interested in hockey and so I was. I started playing hockey when I was in school and from there, I made it as my profession.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: Was it easy to fulfill your dream?

Simranjeet: It wasn’t easy to represent the country and yes, I faced many challenges as well. But I chose to remain strong both mentally and physically. It’s a very tough job to get selected in a junior team, senior team and then to represent the nation. It was very difficult to maintain a graph.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: Do you think that hockey still needs to be more highlighted?

Simranjeet: Of course, most of the audience are connected with cricket and football but after we won a bronze medal in hockey after 41 years, people started connecting their emotions us. They want us to perform much better in World Cup and other matches. I think hockey still needs support in grassroots level, school and college level.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: What are major differences that you can see in hockey?

Simranjeet: India won a bronze medal in Olympics after 41 years, but even before players work very hard. We lost our match in last two Olympics but we learnt a lot even after losing the matches. We never loose our hope and after very match, we tried to occupy a new strategy without being sad. I think every match taught us a lesson because of which we tried even more harder and won a medal.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: Did you ever imagined that you will win a match in Olympics 2020?

Simranjeet: No, I never imagine because until the last whistle is not blown, no one can consider themselves as a winner or loser. Although, we were in lead when last few minutes were left but still Germany had a good chance to win. Luckily, we played well and won a medal.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: How did you make yourself mentally strong?

Simranjeet: We attend almost 9-10 months camps annually. In those camps, we’re taught to stay strong both mentally and physically. Even we attend psychology classes where we are taught to stay calm and worry less. “Where we need to put effort and where not” these things are taught to us and that’s why we’re mentally strong.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: How did you felt, when you get nominated for Arjuna Award?

Simranjeet: It’s a dream of every player to win a medal for the country and then get appreciation from the President of India. It was like a dream come true moment for all of us, because our main focus was on matches only and we never imagined about these awards. It was really a proud feeling because we got many rewards, love from audience and honor from the President of India.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: What’s your next target now?

Simranjeet: Our next target is Paris Olympics, 2023 World Cup which will be played in Bhubaneshwar, Orrisa. We are preparing for these two events only.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: Is there any second sport which you like?

Simranjeet: Other than hockey, Football, Cricket and Soccer. Mostly I like Soccer, because it is quite similar to hockey.  And, if I talk about Cricket then Shikhar Dhawan is my favorite as I met him recently and he’s such a great personality.

MYPENCILDOTCOM: A message to our viewers or readers?

Simranjeet: If you’ve chosen any professional, you’ll always face ups and downs in it. Your life is never constant either you’ll lose or win, you need to stay calm and face every situation strongly. You must have a strong control over your emotions.