Simranjeet Singh Helped India Win Tokyo Olympic Hockey Medal in 2020, Battled Injuries for 2 Years, and is Now Back in Form

Simranjeet Singh, the hero who struck the winning goal at the hockey match in the 2016 Junior World Cup for India, the nation’s first in 15 years, was riddled by multiple injuries, forcing him to take a break for several months, impacting his being in any given for almost two years. The striker had aided India to emerge victorious in the opening game for the country in the 2018 World Cup, lastly, seen scoring a brace and the winning goal in the bronze medal historic win against Germany in the Tokyo Olympics. After hardship, he is again stronger after Tokyo 2020, which served India an Olympic medal win after 41 years.

Simranjeet is an attacking midfielder and belongs to Majhola in the Pilibhit district of Uttar Pradesh. The last two years have been quite tricky for the hockey star because of back-to-back injuries. He injured his knee because of a fall in the camp after the Olympics. He could either go through rehabilitation or get operated on, and the doctor advised the former. And that consumed at least 4 to 5 months to regain fitness for games. Though in May 2022 he made it to Asia Cup because of the training and rehab, he earlier missed out on the 2021-22 Pro League and 2021 Asian Champions Trophy.

Another month went in for his recovery. However, it was only after Simranjeet fell under the radar of the chief coach Graham Reid, he started to look forward to the 2022 Commonwealth Games. He has 55 caps for India but it was hard for a player with so many injuries to get the big chance even after practicing well. Simranjeet was not taken into consideration by 33 crore probables, through which the team members for the nation are selected in Hockey games. He could not attend the Australian tour and Pro League matches, not the 2023 World Cup in Odisha.

Simranjeet felt broken after his name did not surface in the list of players selected for the World Cup. But his coach said that there will be a second chance and asked him to pay attention to his fitness and follow the schedule by giving his best. Simranjeet is thankful to the almighty for his willpower even though it was not easy to tell his family that he could not be a part of the core group. He also appreciated his team members and family who helped him cope with the circumstances. Simranjeet started to overcome his hurdles by driving Indian Oil Corporation in Surjit Hockey Tournament’s final in November 2022, Jalandhar.

Then he helped in a win the following month at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament in New Delhi. The 26-year-old also appeared in the inter-department nationals for Petroleum Sports Promotion Board. He worked on his shooting skills along with the basics and the penalty corners as well. As he improved, the national selectors noticed the efforts and on 31 March, recalled Simranjeet into the core group. With success returning to professional life, Simranjeet in the midst also found solace by marrying in October 2021.

And the player feels that the absence from on-field action was God’s way of letting him have more quality time with his wife because she was also due. Now the couple has Bilawal, their seven-month-old son, and Simranjeet says that it was a blessing in disguise as his family needed him for this duration. Last week, under the guidance of coach Craig Fulton, he performed well in the two Pro League matches in Eindhoven. And now the next target for him is the Asian Games.