Sardar’s village in celebratory mood
Sushil Manav
Indian hockey team’s victory in the qualifiers for the London Olympics has brought cheers in Sant Nagar, the native village of team’s vice-captain Sardar Singh. Sant Nagar situated on Rania road is inhabited by Namdhari Sikhs, the sect to which Sardar Singh’s family belongs.
Villagers thronged Sardar Singh’s house to congratulate his father Gurman Singh on his son’s spectacular success. Sardar Singh was declared ‘Player of the Tournament’ in the qualifiers. Gurnam Singh was seen serving sweets to the visitors. Sardar’s mother Jasvir Kaur said Sardar has contributed well in India’s victory and she hoped he would repeat his feat in the future games too.
The Haryana Minister Gopal Kanda, the Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar and the DC J Ganeshan congratulated Sardar Singh and his parents for the success. The Haryana government has announced cash awards of Rs 11 lakh each for all players hailing from the state, Rs 1 lakh per goal in other matches and Rs 5 lakh per goals for the final game.