Indian hockey team winning the bronze medal match by defeating Germany 5-4 at the Tokyo Olympics. One of the players Sumit Kumar, age 25, celebrations broke out at Kurad in the Sonepat district of Haryana.
Residents of the Jat-dominated village congratulate the Sumit’s family. But behind glory is a story of focus and struggle. Sumit Kumar, the midfielder, belongs to a landless labourer’s family, did odd jobs, including working as a Dhaba cleaner, to make ends meet. In an interview, Sumit’s elder brother Amit said, “Before selecting the sports hostel in Gurugram, Sumit worked at dhabas in Murthal for five years so that he could arrange for the diet and other expenses. Milk was a luxury. During his early days, he used to travel in trains without a ticket to save for meals and fruits,”
Recalling the old memories Amit further said Sumit had started playing hockey simply to get a pair of shoes and a hockey stick is provided free by the academy coach at their village. “Slowly, he started spending the entire day on the hockey ground. We thought that he might quit the game at one time due to the family’s poor financial condition, but he continued. After three years at the sports hostel, Sumit was selected in the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) north zone Bahalgarh centre. He didn’t visit home even on weekends to save on the bus fare,” Amit said.
Sumit’s coach was so passionate about hockey that he did not attend the wedding of his elder brother, Jai Singh, who worked as a labourer. He was was so passionate about hockey that he did not attend the wedding of his elder brother, Jai Singh, who worked as a labourer.
However, the midfielder dedicated the bronze medal to his mother Darshna Devi, who passed away last year. “My mother worked as a domestic help to bring us up. Had she been alive, she would have been the happiest person today. She dreamed that India wins a medal in hockey at the Olympics. Though she is not alive, her blessings are always with us,”
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