Olympic Day special

From wrestling to hockey – a dalit landless labourer’s son, Sumit’s hockey journey from dhaba to Olympics – part 2

Saurabh Duggal

It is in continuation to the Sumit’s hockey story -- Hailing from a dalit landless labourer’s family, Sumit’s journey from working as a cleaner in a Dhaba in Murthal to Tokyo Olympics – posted on June 21 on Pixstory.   

Sonipat is known as the Mecca of Indian wrestling and now it will have hockey Olympians too. Apart from Sumit, three – Neha, Nisha and Sharmila – have also made it to the women’s hockey squad for the Tokyo Olympics.

In Sonepat, the cradle of wrestling, every village kid's first outing place is akhada --wrestling arena in local dialect. Similarly, Sumit's first competitive tournament before hockey came in his life was wrestling. He competed in the state championship and made an early exit. The combat sport requires a rich diet, including almonds and milk, and for Sumit and his family it was a daily struggle to have a basic three meals, at times it was confined to two. At the same time a hockey academy came up in the village and he found it better to try his hand in other sports. 

“My elder brother Amit used to play hockey, so I joined hockey too. Gradually I figured out that if I have to grow big in hockey, then at least a decent diet is a must. For this I am thankful to my entire Kurad village, in the formative years of my hockey career, on rotation basis they (referring to villagers) used to take care of my milk intake," recalls Sumit.

“Poverty is the biggest curse. My childhood and even my youth, till six years ago, were spent in poverty. All these hardships have made me mentally strong, so there is no space for fear and pressure in my life. Hoping to help the team in winning medals in the Olympics,” says Sumit, who plays at defense position. He made his debut in the 2017 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup and was also part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games and 2018 World Cup.