Paramjeet Kumar, Former State-Level Punjab Hockey Player, Now Works As a Porter; Lifts Sacks To Earn Livelihood

India has just finished hosting the FIH Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 in two venues - Rourkela and Bhubaneswar of Odisha. For a fortnight, spectators around the nation witnessed blockbuster hockey action. India, unfortunately crashed out of the tournament early, losing to New Zealand in the crossover round, ultimately finishing in the 9th position. A lot of retrospective reasoning has already went into finding out the cause of India's failure. While India's non-existent domestic structure got explored, some went to the extent of blaming the selectors and the coach. But the eyes barely go to the dark corners of sports in India where more and more shadows accumulate every day. India Beat South Africa 5-2 in Classification Match, Finish 9th at FIH Hockey World Cup 2023.

Paramjeet Kumar, a 30-years old former hockey player at the state and national level, currently works as a ‘palledar’ (one who loads and unloads rice and wheat 50 kg sacks from trucks) at the Faridkot mandi. He gets Rs 1.25 per sack and he loads and unloads around 450 sacks per day to earn a living. He was formerly part of Sports Authority of India, PEPSU and Punjab teams, winner of medals in four junior hockey nationals and was also named in the Indian junior hockey team in 2007.

Paramjeet Kumar currently works as a ‘palledar’

Paramjeet grew up in Faridkot and was introduced into hockey by coach Baltej Indepal Singh Babbu at the Government Bijendra College and was coached by Baljinder Singh. In 2012 Kumar suffered an injury to his left hand and was away from the game for more than a year. He made a return after his injury and played at the state-level and local-level. In 2015 he took his time off from the game and started working as a ‘palledar’.

“Roz da ehi routine hai, borian lana te utarna te ek bori de 1.25 rupaye milde han (It’s my daily routine to load and unload sacks from trucks and I get Rs 1.25 for each sack). Where I work, not many know about hockey, but when they get to know, they always pat me on the back and that’s the only reward I have got from hockey. When I return home, I see my five-year-old son Vikrant and I make him play with a plastic hockey and ball. Whatever happened to me, I want him to change that,” said Kumar while speaking to The Indian Express from Faridkot. Guiness Book of World Records Declares Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela as the Largest Fully Seated Hockey Stadium in the World.

“When I was selected for the SAI centre at Patiala, I could not even think of affording a hockey kit. But staying in the hostel always made me dream to play for India one day. I played for SAI combined teams in the junior nationals. When I was chosen for the Junior Asia Cup, I got the blazer and I could not sleep the whole night. But two days later, the tournament got cancelled. Tokyo Olympics bronze medal winning Indian captain Manpreet Singh and other players like Rupinder Pal Singh, Lalit Upadhayay and Kothajeet Singh were my team-mates in the SAI teams and they would always praise and encourage me,” reminisces Kumar.

Medals That Don't Matter Now

“After the injury, it has been a struggle to make a comeback. I had to work as a ‘palledar’ at the mandi to make ends meet. I hope to return as a player soon or get a job as a coach. If I could do that, I can be a good example for my son and maybe he can play for India one day which I could not,” says Kumar.

Paramjeet is set to meet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on February 1 in Chandigarh and is hopeful of getting a job after the meeting.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 30, 2023 01:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).