The Jugraj Singh story: From selling water bottles at Wagah Border to winning silver at Commonwealth Games

“We’ve
some
excellent
drag-flickers
in
the
team
right
now,
Harmanpreet,
Varun
and
I.
We
always
push
each
other
to
do
better
and
it
allows
us
to
perform
variations
in
matches
as
a
team
which
comes
in
handy
in
tough
situations
especially
since
hockey
teams
properly
scout
to
understand
each
team’s
drag-flick
routine,
so
we
practise
variations
to
make
sure
that
oppositions
struggle
to
read
our
routine,”
Jugraj
said
while
appeareing
on

Hockey
Te
Charcha
­-
a
podcast
series
initiated
by
Hockey
India.

The
25-year-old,
who
was
part
of
India’s
silver-winning
squad
at
the
recent
Commonwealth
Games
2022
in
Birmingham
spoke
about
his
journey
from
humble
origins
to
the
Indian
men’s
hockey
team.

“I
started
playing
in
Attari
when
I
was
in
the
third
grade.
I
shifted
to
Delhi
for
four
years
soon
after
college
to
play
for
the
Punjab
National
Bank
(PNB)
hockey
academy
which
gave
me
my
first
start.
It
was
in
the
PNB
team
that
I
started
playing
competitive
tournaments
where
I
was
spotted
by
the
Navy
hockey
team
who
offered
me
a
position
in
their
senior
squad,
after
winning
the
silver
medal
at
the
national
tournament.
After
which
I
was
eagerly
waiting
for
that
one
chance
to
play
in
the
senior
Indian
men’s
hockey
team.
I
put
in
a
lot
of
work
preparing
myself
for
that
chance
and
I
finally
got
selected
for
the
senior
Indian
men’s
squad
which
was
an
extremely
proud
moment
for
me,”
Jugraj
added.

“One
must
fight
with
all
his
will
power
to
achieve
anything
they
want
in
life,
and
I
did
the
same.
I
never
stopped
fighting
and
never
gave
up
which
resulted
in
me
getting
that
one
opportunity
that
I
needed
to
prove
myself,”
he
added.

The
defender
who
made
his
debut
for
the
senior
team
at
the
FIH
Hockey
Pro
League
2021-22
went
on
to
explain
his
humble
origins,
the
sacrifices
of
his
father,
who
worked
as
a
border
coolie
at
Wagah
Border
and
how
he
overcame
those
adversities.

“We
as
a
family
didn’t
have
a
lot
of
money,
my
father
was
the
only
one
who
used
to
earn
when
I
was
a
kid.
In
my
childhood
my
brother
and
I
used
to
go
to
the
Wagah
Border
to
help
our
father
out
where
we
sold
water
bottles,
snacks,
etc
to
tourists
alongside
him.

“Our
financial
situation
was
so
bad
at
times
that
we
had
to
eat
the
same
meal
every
day
for
a
week,
but
I’ll
be
eternally
grateful
to
my
father
who
made
so
many
sacrifices
for
us
to
make
sure
that
we
go
to
school
no
matter
what.
He
always
encouraged
me
to
play
hockey
also
as
he
realised
that
I
had
a
passion
for
it.”

Jugraj
signed
off
by
narrating
how
adversity
brought
out
the
best
in
him,
“Overcoming
those
adversities
as
a
kid
really
helped
me
grow
and
evolve
as
a
person
and
I
understood
the
importance
of
hockey
and
how
it
could
transform
not
only
my
life,
but
the
lives
of
the
people
in
my
family.
It’s
because
of
my
father
that
I
recognised
the
value
of
hard
work
and
earning
things
for
yourself
which
helped
me
overcome
financial
and
personal
adversities
and
it
made
me
a
better
player.
Now
I’ve
everything
that
I
wanted
as
a
kid
and
it’s
all
thanks
to
hockey
which
helped
me
transform
my
life.”