Chasing kites and playing hockey were his childhood pastimes. Hockey he certainly inherited from his parents and grandparents while urge to fly high, like a kite, was perhaps his dream. Today, now when he has abandoned his love for chasing or flying kites, he has been flying high on the international hockey horizon, as a budding star, with a huge burden of redeeming lost glory in the sport for his motherland, India, which once reigned supreme in the world with eight Olympic gold medals.
This new star is none other than Gagan Ajit Singh, India’s newfound crack forward with tremendous potential for scoring field goals. Though his father, Olympian Ajit Singh, is credited with scoring the fastest goal in Olympic hockey — in the 14th second against Argentina in the opening game of the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games — Gagan is not far behind.
He belongs to a rare hockey family, which has produced Olympians in brothers — Harmik Singh and Ajit Singh — and also in a father-son combination.
His two superb goals against Pakistan in the 25th edition of the Champions Trophy at Amstelveen are not only his ‘best’, but also perhaps the most cherished ‘lethal strikes’ in contemporary hockey. They were lethal as they took the fight out of the Pakistan team which after leading 4-2 till about 60 minutes of the game, lost the tie at 4-7, to give India its biggest ever win over its neighbour and arch rival.
Similarly, he scored three fantastic field goals against Pakistan in two matches in the first Afro-Asian Games, Hyderabad. The paying crowd got their worth with Gagan’s superlative display of talent. He was most sought after player after India lifted the title at Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad.
“Gagan was a naughty boy,” recalls Ajit Singh, revealing that his son had to change his school several times just because of his infatuation for the sport. “I had to pull him out of St Joseph’s School in Ferozepore because of his hockey and put him in Gobind Convent School and then to Manohar Lal School in Ferozepore before Satnam Bajwa, coach in a Education Department, spotted him and took him to a sports wing school at Pathankot. That was not the end of the list of schools Gagan studied. He subsequently moved to Sports School, Jalandhar, before Air India picked him for its Hockey Academy and put him in Union Academy School, near Shivaji Stadium, in New Delhi.”
During the partition of the country in 1947, Gagan’s grand parents had migrated from Gujjranwala, now in Pakistan, to Ferozepore. His grandfather, Sohan Singh and his brother, Sahib Singh, were not only good hockey players themselves but worked hard on their children too.
Gagan’s eldest uncle, Gurcharan Singh, played for Punjab Police hockey team. His second uncle, Harmik Singh, an Olympian and also a former national chief coach, had the distinction of leading all-star Asian team in 1974 during a tour of Pakistan. His third uncle, Baljit Singh, also played hockey at national level. His father, Ajit Singh, being the youngest, also played for India in Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games and several other international events.
Gagan’s initial lessons in hockey were at Ferozepore. His addiction to the sport was apparent as he had little or no interest in studies and wanted to be a star like his uncle Harmik and father Ajit. Besides Satnam Bajwa, he owes his success to three other coaches, Rajinder Singh Senior (the present chief coach), A.K. Bansal (Air India) and Baldev Singh (second coach of Indian team). “They all have helped me in overcoming my weaknesses and improving my scoring abilities,” admits Gagan Ajit
NOTE: Rest in the Book
Prabhjot Paul Singh is the youngest Chief of News Bureau of the 200-member strong news services wing of the oldest and largest circulated English daily of North India, The Tribune. The winner of K.K. Birla Foundation Fellowship for working journalists was also the former Vice-Chairman of the Hockey Commission of AIPS. He has covered 5 hockey World Cups, two in Cricket and three Summer Olympic Games, besides many international events. He headed Chandigarh Press Club between 1991-93 after being its Secretary-General in the previous four years. He authored a book on hockey ‘Road to Barcelona’ in 1991. Contact: prabh19@hotmail.com