Sandeep wants to make up for 2006 loss

NEW DELHI: A stray bullet injury shattered Sandeep Singh’s dream to play in World Cup four years ago and now the drag-flicker is raring to make up for the loss when he represents India in front of home crowd.

Sandeep vowed to leave no stone unturned to put up good performance in World Cup at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

“During these four years it was a lot of struggle for me. I passed through many bad moments, many ups and downs in my life and went though several difficulties.

“So this time I want to make up for that by giving my best,” Sandeep said.

Sandeep, while travelling with team-mate Rajpal Singh by the Kalka-New Delhi Shatabdi Express to join the Germany-bound team in Delhi, was injured when the pistol of an RPF officer went off in 2006.

Sandeep and other Indian players, before their campaign opener against arch-rivals Pakistan, on Sunday, practised in pressure conditions under floodlights.

“It always better to practice in match situations. There will be pressure in tomorrow’s match, so we decided to do such practice,” he said.

Asked about the presence of three drag-flickers in the team, Sandeep said, “We three are all good friends on and off the field. It is advantage to have three because if one suffers injury then other two can handle the responsibility on the ground.”