National hockey team players’ Jalandhar connect

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, May 6

Jalandhar is considered as a sports hub. Not only is the sports industry concentrated here, but the city has also given numerous star players in almost every sport. Recently, Indian men’s hockey team that hogged the limelight for bagging a bronze medal in the Olympics also had Jalandhar connection. While some hailed from the district, others took training here.

The 12th Hockey India National Senior Women’s Hockey Championship started in Bhopal on Friday (Madhya Pradesh) and the Punjab team has three players and two coaches who have Jalandhar connect.

Commonwealth Games’ medallists and international players from the Railway Coach Factory, Kapurthala — Yogita Bali and Amandeep Kaur — have been appointed as coach and manager of the team, respectively, while Jagroop Singh will be the assistant coach of the team.

Yogita Bali, who is an international player, said this was the first time that she is going as a coach for the domestic team.

“I have tried to share my experiences with girls. They are always ready to listen and since they are young, this would be beneficial for the team,” the coach said. Bali who studied for two years in Jalandhar has remained goalkeeper coach in the Indian hockey team. The coach is using her experience to teach several important lessons to the young players.