Junior India skipper Uttam living father’s dream

Uttam Singh

Indian junior team captain Uttam Singh is living his father's dream of playing hockey for the country, fulfilling an aspiration that was abandoned at the death of the patriarch of a poor family.

"My father played hockey for six years at school and nourished a dream that every young player has, but he had to give it up the game at the age of 17 as my grandfather passed away and the entire family's responsibility fell on my father. We lived in a mud house and he had two unmarried sisters to look after," said Uttam.

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His father, Krishnakant not only presented Uttam his first hockey stick, but also taught him the basics of the sport. Growing up in Karampur village of Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur district, Uttam's hockey career began taking shape after a move to Punjab's Ludhiana Hockey Academy, which was a stepping stone to his selection for the junior national team.

"My father's face lights up with pride whenever I don the Indian jersey," said Uttam, who got picked in 2019 and is confident his team can overcome six-time champions Germany in the semi-final on Thursday. "We will give it our best shot. There's a lot of energy in this side. We have the capacity to avenge our loss to Germany in the semi-final of the last Junior World Cup," Uttam said.

Indian coach CR Kumar said: "It will be a pressure game, but we have five experienced players, who were in the side in the last Junior World Cup and that is an advantage," said Kumar.

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