The secret of Uttam’s success in hockey is the spirit of never giving up.
Bangalore. Uttam Singh, captain of the Indian junior hockey team, gave his best under adverse conditions. Despite facing years of neglect and poverty, he did not give up hope and finally shone and brought smiles on the faces of his parents. Born in a humble family, Uttam grew up in Karampur district of Uttar Pradesh and then moved to Ludhiana Hockey Academy to pursue his passion for the game. “My family used to live in a house made of mud till 2019, we lived a very normal life and when I went to the hostel, I found myself in my hostel room,” Uttam told Hockey India’s podcast series ‘Hockey Te Charcha’. Had a chance to have a fan and a cooler.” The Junior Asia Cup-winning Indian team captain said, “My parents used to sleep without any such facility and I did not like it. I wanted the best of facilities for my parents too and knew that a career in hockey could change my fortunes.
He said, “At one point I felt as if I had made a wrong decision to be associated with hockey because even after playing hockey for a decade, I was not selected in the junior team.” Never got discouraged for the sake of my father, all I had to do was to do better in the next National Games. And since then under his leadership the team has topped the Sultan of Johor Cup and more recently the Junior Men’s Asia Cup. After completing the Asia Cup mission, Uttam is now eyeing the Junior World Cup to be held in Kuala Lumpur from December 5 to 16.
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Uttam said, “Our coach says he wants winning to become our habit, our good run continues after the Sultan of Johor Cup and Junior Asia Cup wins, our focus is now on the Junior World Cup “We have realistic hopes of winning the Junior World Cup, based on our past performances. We also play regularly with the senior men’s hockey team and the matches are often close so we know the potential is there. We need to refine ourselves and live up to the expectations.
