Brick-kiln to hockey stadium, a Punjab village story

Mohit Khanna in Chandigarh 

A sports stadium in a village of Jarkhar, some 20km from Ludhiana, is transforming the lives of many underprivileged youngsters. Before the sports stadium came up, these youngsters worked as daily wagers. The stadium has brought with it quality meals, thrice daily. 

Mostly Dalits, these boys lost their job after rich landlords replaced them with machines. Soon, the boys took to drugs. Not anymore now.

Cousins Pawanpreet Singh and Raghubir Singh work at a brick kiln in Dangora village, near Jarkhar, along with their families. Now promising hockey players, these brothers got through GHG Khalsa College at Gurusar Sadhar, Ludhiana, through sports quota. Perusing a BA in humanities, the two represented Panjab University (PU) at All India Inter-University Hockey Championship in Delhi last month, where their team bagged a bronze medal. 

“We would have quit studies and taken up a full-time labourer job, had there been no sports stadium,” says Raghubir.

Hockey coach at the Jarkhar Hockey Academy, Gursatinder Singh, spotted the two in 2010. “I visited the government school of the village and requested the principal to suggest me the names of students interested in sports. The school teacher recommended Pawanpreet and Raghubir,” recalls Gursatinder. The teacher told Gursatinder the two worked at a kiln and were physically strong.

The cousins had their first brush with hockey in 2006, when as 8-year-olds they visited the Jarkhar sports stadium. “The two entered the stadium barefoot. The astroturf was burning hot during the day, but the two looked comfortable. I guess they were used to the weather conditions at the brick kiln. Within days, they were provided with the sports gear. Since then there is no looking back,” says Gursatinder.

Pursuing hockey was not easy. They had to be early riser; they would first work for about five hours at the brick kiln. They would then attend college, and thereafter practise hockey at the stadium. After sweating it out in the field, the two would return to the brick kiln for another three hours. “If there was no practice session, they would spend their entire day at the brick kiln,” says Gursatinder.

The cousins are huge fans of India Hockey Team captain Sardar Singh. While Raghubir Singh plays full-back, Pawanpreet is a centre-forward. They dream of representing the country and winning a gold medal at the Olympics. “We owe a lot to this stadium and the people of this village,” they say. 

Jagroop Singh, director of Jarkhar Sports Academy, says the academy started functioning in 2006 with the help of villagers and NRIs. It has now over 70 players out of which 45 live in the stadium hostel. Over a dozen students of the hockey academy have been inducted in Punjab Police. “We hope they do us proud,” says Jagroop.