With
the
hill-station
of
Dharamsala
hosting
an
international
cricket
match
back
in
the
day,
DAV
Chandigarh’s
cricket
coach
Sukhwinder
Singh
Bawa
decided
to
take
his
teenager
son
to
watch
the
game.
Something
changed
in
little
Raj
Bawa
and
as
a
father,
for
Sukhwinder
it
didn’t
go
unnoticed
that
son’s
focus
shifted
with
nimble
“footsteps”
making
way
for
deft
“footwork”.
And
the
result
was
an
all-rounder
performance
at
the
global
stage
albeit
at
the
junior
level.
1
9913-nonopta-100172
“He
started
playing
(cricket)
when
he
was
11
or
12
years
old
before
that
he
wasn’t
interested
in
it.
He
liked
to
listen
and
dance
to
Punjabi
songs
on
the
television,”
father
Sukhwinder
recollected
as
if
it
was
just
yesterday.
Under-19
World
Cup
2022:
India
create
history,
beat
England
by
4
wickets
to
win
the
title
“He
went
on
tour
with
me
to
Dharamshala
and
saw
a
lot
of
intense
matches
being
played
out.
After
that,
he
started
sitting
with
me
in
team
meetings
and
his
interest
in
cricket
arose
from
there.
After
that,
he
started
playing
seriously,”
sense
of
satisfaction
was
palpable
in
Sukhwinder’s
voice
as
he
spoke
to
PTI
from
his
Chandigarh
residence
where
a
posse
of
reporters
and
camera-persons
had
already
planted
themselves.
The
son
was
ripping
the
heart
out
of
‘Young
Lions’ top-order
and
the
father
was
enjoying
all
the
attention
coming
his
way.
Those
five
wickets
that
Raj
got
in
the
final
wasn’t
his
alone
but
also
belonged
to
Sukhwinder,
who
was
living
his
dream
through
his
son.
Sukhwinder
wasn’t
even
born
when
his
father
Tarlochan
Singh
Bawa
had
played
alongside
Balbir
Singh
Senior,
Leslie
Claudius
and
Keshav
Dutts
to
win
independent
India’s
maiden
Olympic
hockey
gold
in
London
during
the
1948
Games.
Under-19
World
Cup
2022:
Full
List
of
Award
Winners,
Player
Of
The
Tournament,
Stats,
Records
Sport
ran
in
the
family
but
the
coach
in
Sukhwinder
was
elated
when
Raj
decided
to
give
cricket
more
precedence
over
family.
“He
was
a
topper
in
his
school.
Even
in
class
ninth,
he
came
second
in
school,”
Sukhwinder
added
when
asked
if
Raj
was
inclined
towards
studies.
And
then
he
started
accompanying
his
father
to
the
Academy
where
he
had
helped
in
honing
skills
of
hundreds
of
players
but
one
went
on
to
become
an
illustrious
name
in
international
cricket
–
Yuvraj
Singh.
As
a
child,
Raj
would
see
his
favourite
Yuvi
Paaji
train
day
in
and
day
out
with
his
father
and
soon
watching
turned
to
imitation
as
Raj
had
a
new
role
model.
“My
father
trained
Yuvraj
Singh.
I
used
to
watch
him
when
I
was
a
kid.
I
used
to
imitate
Yuvraj
Singh
while
batting.
I
watched
his
batting
videos.
He’s
my
role
model,”
Raj,
who
wears
the
number
12
jersey,
the
same
as
Yuvraj,
said.
Such
was
Yuvraj’s
influence
on
the
child
Raj
that
a
natural
right-hander,
couldn’t
imagine
not
batting
left-handed
just
because
his
hero
was
a
southpaw.
“When
he
was
a
kid,
Raj
kept
on
watching
Yuvraj,
who
could
come
for
his
nets
at
the
academy
and
for
kids,
the
first
hero
makes
a
lasting
impression,”
the
father
said.
“So,
when
Raj
picked
that
bat
he
picked
from
the
left
but
everything
else
–
bowling,
throwing,
etc
he
would
do
from
the
right
hand.
“I
tried
to
correct
him
but
when
I
would
turn
around,
he
again
held
the
bat
with
a
left-handed
stance.
So,
then
I
let
it
be.”
Under-19
World
Cup
2022
Final:
India
vs
England:
Post-Match
Presentation,
Player
Of
The
Match,
Records
While
he
started
batting
and
made
it
to
the
Punjab
U-16
team,
it
was
only
after
making
it
to
the
sub-junior
state
team
that
the
father
decided
that
Raj
had
the
makings
of
a
good
pace
bowler.
“He
was
more
inclined
towards
bowling
(in
the
beginning)
because
I
also
used
to
be
a
fast-bowling
all-rounder.
But
I
wanted
to
balance
it.
So,
I
stopped
his
bowling
when
he
started.
“I
focussed
more
on
his
batting,
prepared
him
as
a
proper
batter.
I
wanted
him
to
do
well
in
crunch
situations.
I
didn’t
want
him
to
be
a
bowler
who
can
bat.
I
wanted
him
to
be
like
Yuvraj
in
batting
and
like
Kapil
Dev
in
bowling.”
“I
wanted
him
to
be
a
complete
all-rounder,
50-50.
For
that,
it
was
important
to
make
him
bat.
When
he
made
Punjab’s
U-16
team,
I
gave
him
the
ball.
I
had
seen
him
bowl
as
a
child
and
I
was
confident
that
he
can
bowl
better
than
anybody
else,” Sukhwinder
said.
“I
like
both
batting
and
bowling,”
the
shy
Raj
said
at
the
post-match
presentation
ceremony
while
receiving
his
medallion.
Well,
Raj
Angad
Bawa’s
journey
has
just
begun
but
prospects
seem
to
be
enormous
and
the
road
ahead
exciting.
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