Dharamvir Singh Lucky to be in London

Dharamvir delighted Ipoh spectators last month with a bit more aggressive than the established stars in our frontline. Perhaps, a singular show has catapulted him to London, and he should thank WSH, because of which many of his rivals for selection, were not at all in the fray. If at all any player in the present team, who has to prove worth his selection, it should be this inside forward, a playmaker, and and a fitness freak.

Dharamvir Singh is another young striker who has been battling injuries for a long time before finally making his presence felt. A product of the Chandigarh Hockey Academy, Dharamvir was born in Ropar district of Punjab and joined the academy in 2001, inspired by India winning the junior World Cup for the first time. Soon he was selected for the national sub-junior side but he still had to struggle a lot before actually finding his feet on the international circuit.

The 22-year-old Dharamvir had his first brush with the spotlight when he was named Player of the Tournament during a four-nation event in Singapore in 2006. He followed that up by being the second highest goalscorer at the six-nation tournament in Malaysia the next year. However, despite making the grade so early and showing tremendous potential, he had to wait for a long time before getting the senior team call-up.

That finally came during India’s Canada series in September 2009, as preparation for the Champions Challenge in Salta. However, he soon fell out of favour with then coach Jose Brasa, and was excluded from the team for the 2010 World Cup and the Azlan Shah tournament soon after.

He came back into the squad for the Commonwealth Games and managed to impress the selectors and the coach enough to book a spot in the team for the 2010 Asian Games as well. In fact, the year 2010 was a complete circle for Dharamvir. He started the year by being out of the team, worked his way back in for two major events before again being sidelined after the Asian games due to ankle injury.

That required surgery and Dharamvir had to sit out for a large part of 2011 as he underwent rehabilitation and strengthening. By that time, many more youngsters had come up the ranks and it took a lot of effort from the Chandigarh player to force his way back yet again.

He was included by coach Nobbs in the side for the Asian Champions Trophy last year and was a part of the team during the Olympic qualifiers. It is a mark of his perseverance and hard work that he has managed to oust a far more experienced player from the final 16 for the London Olympics only on the basis of his superior fitness and hard work.