Jugraj Singh - A hero of his own story
Jugraj Singh was one
of the finest drag-flicker India had ever produced so far and considered to be
the next Sohail Abbas by many experts. In a series against Pakistan, he
performed so well that the Abbas himself said, "he could see a younger
version of him in Singh"
A hockey Star was born in a cricket loving country
Jugraj Singh played a
key role in India's gold medal run during the 2001 Junior World Cup, but came
to the limelight during Champions Trophy match against strong pakistani side on
2003 at Amsterdam when he singlehandedly denied Pakistan the victory. Down 2-4
by the seventh minute of the second half, The Indians led by the Jugraj Singh
staged a magnificent comeback to score five goals in the second half. In that match,
Jugraj Singh denied Sohail Abbas multiple times to score goals and also scored
two fantastic goals from the penalty corners. After that match, he never looked
back and became the mainstay of India's defense as well as the main force to
score goals from penalty corners. Suddenly a hockey Star was born in a cricket
loving nation.
The entire nation was
expecting him to carry India to the podium of 2004 Athens Olympics. But with
the Athens Olympic around the corner, destiny deceived Jugraj Singh and his
whole world when he was badly injured in a terrible road accident near
Jalandhar. The 20-year-old India's hockey sensation was driving the car, which
also had two of his friends along with him when it hit into an electric post
trying to avoid a cycle rikshaw. He suffered multiple fractures on his right
elbow, right hand & foot. The accident was enough to end the Olympic Medal
dream of Jugraj as well as the hockey lovers.
Searching for new dreams
He never played for
the nation again but a fighter like him is unlikely to go down in life so
easily without putting any mark. He wanted to train the youngsters and was
awarded an opportunity to coach the junior national team as a penalty corner
specialist.He picked four players from the entire lot & one of them is the
renowned drag flicker and current star Rupinder Pal Singh. In an Interview
Rupinder said "I did not achieve this overnight.My drag flick coach Jugraj
has worked hard for that. I owe my success to him''. He also added that "
If Jugraj did not meet with an accident in 2003, he might have been the world
record holder". Later on he also trained the likes of Sandeep Singh and
Raghunath and worked as a penalty corner coach during the Azlan Shah Cup,
Malaysia. His skill level was such that even the best of the players &
coaches around the world wanted to learn the technique from him. Jugraj used to
spend hours with the Sandeep & Raghunath and we all know that how
instrumental they were in India's penalty corner conversions.
After manufacturing a player like Rupinder Pal Singh, Jugraj joined Punjab police as a DSP. When three terrorists attacked the police station in Gurdaspur he rushed to the site to neutralized the terrorists. The 12-hour-long operation was ended when all the three terrorists were killed in a fierce gun battle.
He is only 38 now and already has contributed so much to our nation. A road accident could not defeat him in life. He came back strongly in life even when medical science ruled him out to even stand on his toes. He will continue to inspire the next generations of our country. India needs heroes like him in each and every field of life.
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