Blame Fame!
Practice may make a sportsman perfect, but what makes a sports star? At his first fashion shoot, footballer Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, 29, fields some questions
Footballer Gurpreet Singh Sandhu comes across as a very competent person in our interview. “How are you so sorted?” I demand over my Zoom call with the goalkeeping star. There’s a pause. “Experience, ma’am,” he says finally. Sure, experience could account for it. But, something tells me that Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, goalkeeper of the Indian football team, player in the Bengaluru Football Club, Arjuna awardee, the only Indian to play in the UEFA Europa League and the two-time winner of the Golden Glove – an individual award given by the Indian Sports League to the goalkeeper with the cleanest sheets – has always been this way.
The 29-year-old Indian goalie who stands six feet, six inches tall, seems to epitomise the very opposite of the popular impression of successful sportspeople as party animals. He seems a responsible person overall, dedicated not only to his game and himself, but also to his partner, his family, his fans and his place in the world as a human being.
For example, when Gurpreet was a little boy and his father’s dearest dream had been
to have him play cricket, he fell in love with football and stuck to his passion.
Then, having worked hard at honing his talent and landed himself a place on the under16 national team, he lived away from home for seven to eight months a year, becoming emotionally independent. Finally, by the time he was about 18, he was financially independent and very happy because of it.
“My parents say that my being independent as a teenager was a huge help to them financially,” says Gurdeep. “And I feel proud to say that I have never been a burden on my parents.”
“AS A SPORTSPERSON, IT’S GOOD TO GET SUPPORT FROM BRANDS THAT CAN TAKE CARE OF OUR SPORTING REQUIREMENTS AND GIVE US BETTER VISIBILITY”
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
Gurpreet was nine years old when he started playing football and when he fell in love with the game, he dedicated himself to it completely.
“My father loves cricket and wanted to be a cricketer himself but couldn’t do so because of the lack of support from his parents,” Gurpreet explains. “So, he wanted to fulfill his dream through me. But I didn’t enjoy cricket at all, while I developed an instant love for football at the football academy in my school in Chandigarh where I was invited to play after winning a 100m race.”
As dedicated as he was to the game he loved, Gurpreet also saw an advantage to it that hadn’t occurred to anyone else: football practice helped him escape household chores and school work!
“What I like best about football is that it’s something that anybody can enjoy. You can be totally involved in it, but it’s quick. You get to play and also spend time with your friends,” says Gurpreet.
Gurpreet’s parents on the other hand saw football as a way for their son to avoid bad habits and later perhaps get a job via the sports quota. They had no idea Gurpreet would one day be a star.
“In fact, just a few days ago, my mother visited me in Bengaluru and said they had never thought I would reach such a stature in this game!” laughs Gurpreet.
However, even though Gurpreet is considered as one of the country’s top football players; even though he has an impressive following on social media (176K followers on Instagram!), he still doesn’t enjoy the kind of recognition that a cricketer does.
This doesn’t make him feel bad, though. “Cricket is not to be blamed, that’s the game people love to watch and whatever people love will flourish,” he says. “But I definitely want football to have more of a following than it does now.”
The star goalkeeper is happy that sponsors have begun looking at sports other than cricket. “As a sportsperson, it’s good to get support from brands that can take care of our sporting requirements or help give us better visibility,” he says. “But you also need to know your limits and whatever support I’m getting now I feel is enough for me.”