Players pledge to emulate hockey legend Prithipal

Our Sports Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 21

Competition in the sub-junior section was held, besides players took a pledge to emulate the hockey legend, Prithipal Singh, whose 36th death anniversary was observed yesterday during the ongoing 9th Olympian Prithipal Singh Hockey Festival being organised by Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Charitable Trust at Jarkhar village near here on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla Road.

Around 200 students drawn from different schools of the area took part in the proceedings in this week-end tournament being held under floodlights.

They observed a two-minute silence to pay tributes to the hockey legend, who hogged the limelight for more than a decade and won laurels for the country. This was followed by the National Anthem.

Former hockey Olympian Hardeep Singh Grewal, along with Balbir Singh Sohi, deputy director, Cooperative Department, Rupinder Singh Ravi, state organiser, Punjab Schools Education Department, Jagjeet Singh Khaira, assistant sub-inspector, Punjab Police, and Jagroop Singh Jarkhar, chief organiser, Jarkhar Sports, were the guests of honour on this occasion.

They highlighted the achievements of Prithipal Singh, who was a source of inspiration for young players of hockey.

Hardeep Singh said he was so impressed by late Prithipal Singh that he took the game of hockey because of this penalty-corner specialist.

“If you intend to be a great player and represent the country in Olympics then follow Prithipal Singh,” he said.

In the matches played yesterday, Bagharia Hockey Centre and Nankana Sahib Public School, Amargarh, recorded victories to advance into the semifinals, whereas Rampur Hockey Centre, PPS, Nabha, Jarkhar Hockey Centre and Kila Raipur qualified for the quarterfinals.