“Don’t you feel the pressure to play your first tournament in World Cup?
I asked Jasjit around 12 months ago.
The smiling assassin has only one answer: “Because I did not play any other tournament, I will be natural, and play my game. This is what I also believe the scene is going to be”
His words turned prophesy when he used his natural game for his country in a most crucial juncture, which helped India post a great win over Malaysia in the semis of the HWL SFs at Antwerp
When he was selected for the last World Cup, Jasjit was looked upon with awe. Because, inter alia, he was 24 years, and he did not play any junior international. Normally Indians break national scene at 18-20 years(?) and would have played 3,4 junior internationals if not Junior World Cup.
It was a silent break through.
When he was sidelined after the Hague World Cup, it was further thought that he is nothing but ‘One Tournament Wonder’.
But the graceful Sardar from Sansarpur — a region that produced n number of internationals in the 60s and 70s — proved such a mundane thinking wrong.
At Antwerp in Belgium, where the HWL SFs is going on, he has carved a niche for himself and found a place in the sporting history of India.
The 26-year old emerged India’s ‘Crisis Manager’ there, and turned Indian team’s off day into a joyous occasion.
India did play well against Malaysia in the quarterfinal on Wednesday; forwards’ shots going the way petrol prizes in India would: hither and thither.
Against Malaysia, even the return of Rupinder Pal Singh did not help. He was at odds with a penalty corner he took.
Jasjit, a Business Management degree holder, rose heads and shoulders above the rest at the business end of the HWL SFs.
Despite being a midfielder, filled in the defence vacuum created by the absence of VR Raghunath and Rupinder Pal.
Then when needed, that too after Malaysians took a goal lead and survived with that almost 30 minutes, Jasjit converted both the penalty corners that India got. Each one was a beauty, manifestation of precision and prowess.
The first one reached the right top corner, the second one left top of roof
The delightful drags doused the Malaysian fire
As India consumed Malaysia in that glorious fourth quarter, Indian hockey has produced another shining star. If the early phase of Antwerp belonged to Walmiki brothers, the second phase certainly belongs to our new Sansarpur sensation.
The below is what I wrote when he was selected for World Cup last year.
At 24, international debut for Sansarpurian Jasjit
He has not come through the hard-grind of Academies. He in a way represents amateur-kind of players, who don’t compromise studies for the sake of hockey. Yet, in a short span of taking of up hockey, knocked the doors of Indian team. And makes his international debut not in a run-of-of the mill stuff, but in the mother of all battles, the world cup.
Here you have Punjab’s puttar Jasjit Singh, who is a kind of Viren Rasquinha as he is doing Masters in Business Administration nowadays.
The 24-year old has been included in the Indian team bound for The Hague. Perhaps after Cedric Pereira, now settled in Perth, Australia, a player is making his international debut in a world cup. Cedric was a surprise choice for the first world cup held in Barcelona.
“He trained well, we all felt he can be a good choice”, asserts smiling Roelant Oltmans, who first tested him in the Hockey India League early this year. Jasjit Singh was part of the medal winning team 2014.
“The coach, selection committee are all unanimous of his choice, its unfortunate he had suffered a minor injury before the Europe Tour, and missed it”, elaborates Oltamans.
Jasjit was on the other day had to face the same question from the media at the Holiday Inn where the world cup team was announced, amidst the galaxy of 1975 World Cup goldies. The question was: Don’t you feel the pressure to play your first tournament in World Cup?
The smiling assassin has only one answer: “My coaches say differently. Because I did not play any other tournament, I will be natural, and play my game. This is what I also believe the scene is going to be”
Its not often one come across in India a player making international debut at the age of 24 – considering his colleague in The Hague team Mandeep Singh is six years junior to him, and has already been in the international circuit for well over two years – but Jasjit Singh, who was picked up among the 90-odd probables after the Pune Senior Nationals when Michael Knobbs was at the helm of affairs, could not make any headway further than continue to play for his college team Khalsa in Jalandhar, but his days could not be denied for long.
With a strong midfield where captain Sardar Singh is well anchored, the think tank seemed to have taken a risk of sort in picking up the new face.
It’s a reward for Jasjit, who hardly had any stints in any hard-grind academies, where in fact the academics is the first casualty due to heavy work load, who had only practiced on the Jalandhar Surjit Hockey Academy turfs on Sundays.
“My mother used to take me to the Turf on Sundays because the Academy will have holiday, we can get to play on Turf”.
Jasjit, who joined Indian Railways a couple of years ago, and posted in Jalandhar, relished any position in the midfield, and it gives elbow room for coaches insofar as his utility value is concerned.
Tailpiece: Jasjit is a Kular, a clan which produced n-number of internationals in the 50s and 60s, which included Ajit Pal Singh and Udham Singh, a four-time Olympian. Yes, he is a Sansarpurian.