Making the right choices

The 20-year-old Sharma,named as a stand-by for the competition,got his chance when Sardar Singh inexplicably walked out of the team citing ‘mental pressure’. And with India winning in Ordos without losing a single match,he is now more confident of going back home – a rented tenement which he shares with four other members of his family.

“Since mine is the 90s generation,I obviously started playing cricket like everyone else. I used to play both cricket and hockey for CAB inter-college also but my sports instructor there,Kirpal Singh,told me clearly that if I really wanted to do something exclusively in sports,then I was better off concentrating on hockey because everyone in India wants to be a cricketer and there’s a huge waiting list plus connections required. Once I decided to concentrate on just one sport,it grew on me,” Sharma said on the sidelines of a felicitation function for the team in the capital.

It wasn’t easy,though. Vikas’s father isn’t employed and his elder brother was the only earning member in the family. Quitting sports was an easy option but making it through to the SAI hostel in Kurukshetra helped him stick to it longer. He then appeared for trials at the Punjab National bank academy at the National Stadium in Delhi in 2006 and was selected,honing his skills for three years before the academy was shut down for CWG renovations.

“I did not have any idea what to do next but luckily I got through with Indian Oil Corporation. Even though I am just on contract with them,it’s a good job and I am hopeful of becoming a permanent employee when the contract runs out in April next year,” he said.

But the fact that he picked up the stick instead of the willow has meant only jeers from neighbours and relatives. “There was a time when me and Praveen Kumar were together in Meerut. I used to train for hockey,he for cricket across a fence. He would come on a rickety cycle and borrow money for his daily lunch sometimes. Now everyone taunts me about how much he has earned and what have I done in life? After a point it does start affecting you,” Vikas said.

In fact,he admits that for the past few months,he was himself beginning to question whether he made the right choice. “When we won the title,I felt relieved more than anything else. I can finally now go back with a trophy and a gold medal,and I regained confidence that one day I will be able to prove my choices correct,” he says.

Curated For You

Happy New Year 2026: Wishes Images, Quotes, Status, Whatsapp Messages, SMS, Shayari, Photos, Pics and Pictures

Nagpur neurosurgeon Dr Chandrashekhar Pakhmode dies of heart attack at 53, was fit, had clean ECG 3 days ago: Which cardiac risks are we missing?

Dhurandhar Box Office Collection Worldwide Day 27 Update: Ranveer Singh film crosses Rs 16 cr mark on 4th Thursday