Indian trailblazer Sandhu glad he ignored cricket
Goalkeeper enjoying life in Norway after making historic debut for Stabaek last week
Like most Indian children with sporting ambitions, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s father wanted his son to become a cricketer, but the goalkeeper is glad he did not heed the paternal advice.
Last week, the 23-year-old shot-stopper became the first Indian to play for a top-tier European club after making his debut for Stabaek FC in a Norwegian Cup tie against Runar.
“Actually, I started with cricket for a couple of days in my childhood because my dad loves cricket and I thought it would not be bad to try,” Sandhu told Reuters in an interview.
“So I tried it but didn’t find it interesting. There was a football academy in my school and the coaches picked me and I joined in.”
His parents did not object after they discovered their son was working hard and doing well in the sport. Cricket is almost always the first choice sport for youngsters in a country ranked a lowly 147th in the Fifa rankings.
Joining elite group
India, with a population of 1.3 billion, in the past had players like Mohammad Salim, and former captains Bhaichung Bhutia and Sunil Chhetri ply their trade in Europe, but their stints were all for lower league sides. Another former skipper Renedy Singh has joined top Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia, although he is yet to start.
Last year, Sandhu left East Bengal, one of India’s most successful clubs, and joined former Norwegian champions Stabaek on a three-year contract and is currently the second-choice goalkeeper behind Ivory Coast international Sayouba Mande.
“Never ever did I dream of playing in Europe,” he said from Baerum in Oslo, after returning from practice. “Since I joined East Bengal, I started to think about it. Some people came to me and said I can make it. I thought, if people are trusting in me, then I should do it.”
The wait to discover if he belonged at European level was a long and difficult one for Sandhu but he knew it was not impossible. And the lanky keeper’s debut could have not been more satisfying as he kept a clean sheet in Stabaek’s 6-0 thrashing of Runar.
“It was hard to match the level of the game here when I arrived last year,” he said. “It took a lot of time, a lot of training and a lot of patience. It is a lot different [from India]. The speed is higher, the quality of players you face is higher and everything is on a higher level.”