Jugraj Singh: Sold water on the India-Pakistan border, father was a porter, now won the Asian Champions Trophy.
India defeated China 1-0 in the final of the Asian Champions Trophy. The hero of Team India's victory was Jugraj Singh, who scored a brilliant goal in the 51st minute of the fourth quarter to give Team India the lead. China gave a tough fight to Team India in the final match but Jugraj's goal proved to be too much for China. Whenever the Indian hockey team wins, usually the name of captain Harmanpreet Singh comes up but this time Jugraj Singh, born in a small village on the India-Pakistan border, won the match. It is very important for everyone to know who Jugraj is, the hero of Team India's victory, and what the story of his reaching the hockey team is.
Jugraj Singh was born in Attari, Punjab. Attari is located on the India-Pakistan border and there was a time when firing used to happen here frequently. The firing of the Pakistani army had disturbed the people here so much that there came a time when the Indian Army had ordered to evacuation of Jugraj's village. Although the situation improved later, Jugraj and his family's financial condition was very bad. You will be surprised to know that Jugraj sold water bottles on the India-Pakistan border to raise his family. His father used to work as a porter on the border. Jugraj chose hockey to end his family's poverty and he made his name in this game without any mentor.
Jugraj Singh's idols were Shamsher Singh and Chatara Singh. Both these players were from his village. Seeing them, Jugrat was admission to the Hockey Academy in Jalandhar and got selected for the PNB team in 2011. He used to get only Rs. 3500 as a stipend. But his life changed in the year 2016. Jugrat got entry in the Indian Navy team in 2016 and he was made Team Petty Officer. This job was invaluable for Jugrat because his salary increased from Rs. 3500 to Rs. 35000. Today the country is saluting Jugrat. First, he got a bronze for Team India in the Olympics and now he has made the country the champion of Asia.