As the India Colts prepare to defend their coveted title at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s Junior World Cup in Bhubaneswar later this month, young defender Yashdeep Siwach; who is a part of the side for the tournament, took a moment to reflect on his personal journey and spoke about the inspiration he sought from his mother – former Indian Women’s Hockey Team Captain and Arjuna awardee Pritam Siwach.
“I started playing hockey by following my mother since I was very young. My mother is the former captain of the Indian Women’s Hockey Team and an Arjuna awardee, therefore, hockey has always been in my blood. I have always followed her example and have wished to emulate her achievements. The first time I ever visited a hockey ground as a child was along with my mother. As my interest grew in the sport, there was no looking back for me then. Gradually, I started training with my mother being my first proper Coach in hockey,” said Yashdeep Siwach in an official Hockey India release. As Yashdeep began training in hockey at a relatively late age of 16 years, he made vast improvements in his game in a very short span and credits his steep learning curve to being included in the National Camp at SAI Bengaluru at an early age. Yashdeep was a member of the Junior Men’s national side that won the Silver medal at the 2019 Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia.
“When I came to the national camp for the first time, it was a very new experience for me because I had never been used to living away from my home until that point. I was still relatively new to hockey until then so I was not used to that feeling, but I quickly took the opportunity and learned a lot at that time,” said Siwach.