By Harpal Singh Bedi
Indian Hockey is moving in the right direction. This assertion was made on by the Men and women’s team captains Manpreet Singh and Savita respectively today on the occasion of National Sports Day which is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Legendary Major Dhyan Chand.
“The National Sports Day is a great occasion to remind ourselves the importance of leading a healthy life. Lately, with the achievements at the world-level in sports across various disciplines, children are encouraged to take up active lifestyle and are willing to commit to competitive sports. “said ace midfielder Manpreet Singh.
“We must nurture a good sports culture in the country and I feel with events like Khelo India Youth Games being organised regularly, we are moving in the right direction.” “
India team winner of a Silver medal in the recently held Commonwealth Games, will now start preparing for the upcoming season of Hockey Pro League 2022/23 with their first phase of their home matches scheduled in October and November this year.
“We will in-detail introspect and analyse our performance at the Commonwealth Games. While there were some good takeaways, there is a lot more that we need to do in order to perform under pressure and that will be our focus as we prepare for our next assignments.” Manpreet said
Meanwhile, Savita, who led the Women’s Team to a Bronze medal at the CWG , expressed, “I wish everyone on the occasion of National Sports Day. I am overwhelmed to see more and more young women take up sports to make a career out of it.
” Over the past week, when I was back home in Haryana, I did not see an empty playground. Children were playing some sport or the other and that is very encouraging. I feel with the country bagging several medals in events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games among others, more children are inspired to take up an active lifestyle.”