Who is Sandeep Singh? The rise and fall of an Indian hockey icon

Though not vocal in the Assembly, Singh ticked all the boxes for the BJP. His popularity — the result of his sports career — worked for the party and he also became its Sikh face. So, after he edged out the Congress’s Mandeep Singh by more than 5,000 votes in 2019 — becoming the only sportsperson fielded by the BJP to win — Singh was a shoo-in for the sports minister’s chair. In the Assembly, he has been seldom seen participating in any debate unless it pertained to his department.

Drag-flick specialist

Born to Gurucharan Singh Saini and Daljeet Kaur Saini in 1987, Sandeep often accompanied his elder brother Bikramjeet to play hockey under mercurial coach Baldev Singh at the Shahabad Hockey Academy in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district.

A prodigious drag-flicker, Singh’s meteoric rise meant that he became the youngest Indian player to play for the senior side in the prestigious Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2004. The same year, in Athens, Singh created another record by becoming the youngest Indian hockey player to represent the country in the Olympics.

A year later, Singh became the highest scorer in the Junior World Cup and looked destined to leave his mark in the senior World Cup that was set to be held in Germany in 2006. But on August 22, 2006, days before the tournament, Singh was accidentally shot in the spine by a Railway Protection Force guard while travelling in the Kalka Shatabdi train along with teammate Rajpal Singh. He was admitted to PGIMER in Chandigarh for days.

The spinal injury meant that the Shahabad native lost more than 40 per cent of his body weight. Singh spent more than two years in rehabilitation followed by training.

Two years later, he returned to playing hockey for India at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup where he emerged as the top scorer with a total of nine goals. The same year, he was appointed the hockey team’s captain. Under his captaincy, India won the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2009. Singh was instrumental in the victory, scoring six goals and was adjudged the player of the tournament. The hockey team, which had failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics in 2008, made it to the London Olympics in 2012 under Singh’s leadership. He scored 16 goals in that qualifying campaign, including five against France In the final qualifier. All five goals against France were from penalty corners.

At his peak, Singh earned the nickname “Flicker Singh” as his drag-flick speed was measured at speeds above 145 km per hour. His Twitter account, too, goes by the same name. “As a team-mate, Sandeep Singh always showed respect to senior players. At the start of his junior career, we all knew how special he was. But he was always eager to learn more. When he emerged on the senior side, it was like India getting back Jugraj Singh. The way he made the comeback post the injury tells us about his willpower. Even as a sports minister, he made sure to meet and respect his seniors whenever he was on a visit,” said one of Singh’s former teammates.

The complainant has accused Singh of sexual harassment, wrongful confinement, stalking, and criminal intimidation. On Sunday, a protest was held in Rohtak where activists demanded that the government sack Singh.

The minister has rejected the allegations, labelling them baseless, and filed a counter-complaint. State police chief PK Agrawal has constituted a committee headed by ADGP Mamta Singh to look into allegations levelled by Singh.

Tenure as sports minister

Singh who is one of the best drag-flickers in Indian hockey history scored more than 150 goals in over 200 international matches. He last played in India colours in 2016.

As the sports minister, he oversaw the Fourth Khelo India Youth Games in Panchkula earlier this year. But the sports department’s decision to ask players for fees to practice in the stadium received backlash, forcing Singh to roll back the move. During his tenure, the sports department also ended the reservation quota for players in categories A, B, and C.