Indian hockey team members return to hero’s welcome amid bhangra, dhol beats
AMRITSAR/JALANDHAR: Festivity was in the air as India’s bronze medal-winning men’s hockey team members belonging to Punjab arrived in Amritsar, where they were accorded a warm welcome in Punjabi style on Wednesday morning.
Eleven Indian hockey players from Punjab — Manpreet Singh (captain), Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Varun Kumar, Dilpreet Singh, Simranjit Singh, Gurjant Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Krishna Bahadur Thakur — paid obeisance at Golden Temple before heading to their homes. The bronze medal was worth its wait in gold as India returned home with an Olympic medal in hockey, the national game, after 41 years.
Indian woman hockey star Gurjit Kaur, who scored the only goal against Australia in a quarterfinal match, taking the Indian women’s team to the semi-final for the first time in the history of the Olympics, also arrived with members of the men’s hockey team at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport at 6.30am.
They were received by Congress MLA and former Indian hockey player Pargat Singh along with Amritsar north MLA Sunil Dutti, Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira, mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu and family members of the players at the airport’s flying club. “We are at loss of words to express how happy we are to see the welcome we have received at the holy city on returning to Punjab after winning the medal. I hope next time we return with the gold medal,” said Harmanpreet Singh, a leading scorer of the team.
Folk dancers, particularly bhangra performers, set the mood as they danced with gusto to the beat of the dhol, while slogans of Sat Sri Akal rent the air and the players were presented garlands and siropa (robes of honour) at the airport.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which had announced a reward of ₹1 crore for the team as an honour for winning the medal, sent a bus to bring the players from the airport to Golden Temple. A majority of the team members belong to Punjab. Six players are from the state’s Majha region. All wore sky blue turbans, the colour of the team. At Golden Temple, the players offered prayers and gratitude for their remarkable performance at the Tokyo Olympics in which they defeated Germany to win the bronze medal.
A special ceremony was organised by the SGPC to felicitate them at the entrance plaza of the shrine. SGPC president Bibi Jagir Kaur handed over cheques for Rs 5 lakh to each player along with siropas, a golden model of Golden Temple and a memento as senior Akali leaders, including former minister Gulzar Singh Ranike, looked on.
“We consider ourselves fortunate to be here today. With this honour, we will be encouraged to perform even better, said,” team captain Manpreet Singh.
Later in the day, Manpreet, Mandeep, Varun Kumar and Hardik Singh, got a rousing welcome at village Mithapur and Khusropur villages in Jalandhar on their arrival on Wednesday. Manpreet, Mandeep and Varun hail from Mithapur village while Hardik belongs to Khusropur.
They were warmly received by former Olympian and MLA Pargat Singh along with officers of the sports department at Border Security Force chowk in Jalandhar. They were taken in a decorated open jeep with people and fans turning out in numbers and showering them with floral petals on their way to Mithapur.
At Mithapur village stadium, they were welcomed by budding hockey players of the village and residents. Besides, Hardik Singh also received a warm welcome at his village Khusropur.