Sandeep Singh Saini is a legendary Indian field hockey professional player. He has been the ex-captain of the Indian National Hockey Team. He usually plays as a full back and is a specialist penalty corner taker.
With drag speeds of more than 144 km/hour, the 6 feet tall Singh is considered to be one of the most potent drag flickers in the history of the sport. Hence, he is also fondly referred to as ‘Flicker Singh.’ He is currently an employee of Haryana Police and holds the rank of a DSP.
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Early Life
Sandeep was born on 27th February 1986 in a Sikh family in Shahabad town located in Kurukshetra, Haryana. His mother’s name is Daljit Kaur and his father is Gurcharan Singh. Bikramjeet Singh is his elder brother; he also professionally plays field hockey and is currently playing for Indian Oil.
Career
Singh made his debut as a player in the Indian National Hockey Team in January 2004 in Ipoh at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He became the captain of the team in 2009. As a captain, Sandeep led the Indian team to victory at the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. India had won the trophy after more than a decade. He was the highest goal scorer in the competition. Sandeep was replaced as captain in 2010 by Rajpal Singh.
With 16 goals, Sandeep was the top goal scorer in the Olympic qualifiers of 2012 London Olympics. His efforts helped the Indian team qualify for the Olympics after 8 long years.
Singh started playing in the Hockey India League in 2013. He was bought by the Mumbai Magicians franchise and was one of the highest paid players at the auctions. During the inaugural year, he scored 11 goals and was the highest scorer in the tournament. He played for the Punjab Warriors franchise in 2014 and 2015, and then was purchased by the Ranchi Rays franchise in 2016. In 2014, he played for the Havant Hockey Club in the UK.
Sandeep has stated that he would begin coaching after retirement. He has been taking coaching training in Australia and India.
Near Fatal Incident
Singh was travelling on the Shatabadi Express train on August 22, 2006. He was on his way to join the Indian National Team that was leaving for the hockey world cup in Germany. Unfortunately, he became the victim of an accidental gunshot and was almost paralyzed. The bullet ripped through 3 vital organs and confined him to a wheel chair for almost 2 years. Sandeep recovered from the serious injury and went on to play for India once again.
Trivia
- An upcoming Bollywood movie titled ‘Soorma’ is based on the life of Sandeep Singh. Diljit Dosanjh is playing the role of the protagonist. Other actors in the film include Taapsee Pannu and Angad Bedi. The movie is directed by Shaad Ali and actress Chitrangda Singh is one of the producers. It is slated to release on July 13, 2018.
- He received the Arjuna Award for achievements in field hockey in 2010
Sandeep Singh – wife (Harjinder Kaur)
Sandeep Singh and Harjinder Kaur were childhood friends who had the same passion -hockey. The grew up together in Kurkushetra (Haryana) , specifically in a town called Shahbad Markanda. The two trained at Baldev Singh Academy. The family of the boy and girl approved their courtship and soon enough, Singh and Kaur got married.
Post marriage, Sandeep evolved into a professional hockey player, while wife Harjinder Kaur became a home-maker and later mother to their son called Sehajdeep. Though Harjinder does not play hockey and does odd jobs, she says that she is thankful to the game that brought her close to her husband.
