New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS): Indian Men’s Hockey Team forward Sukhjeet Singh considers it a great honor to have the chance to represent India at the upcoming 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022 starting from September 23 in Hangzhou, China.

Representing the country for the first time in this crucial tournament, the Jalandhar lad already has 43 international caps and 13 goals to his name.

The 26-year-old expressed his immense joy in representing the country and said, “It feels surreal that I will be representing India at the Asian Games. I feel proud that I will be donning India’s jersey at the Asian Games. Everyone in my family was elated to hear the news that I was part of the team.”

Everyone in my family was elated to hear the news that I was part of the team. It was my father’s dream to see me playing at the highest level, and I am here now. It’s a feeling that I cannot express in words. It is all due to my sincere efforts and good wishes of my family members that I am here and representing India at the Asian Games,” he added.

Sukhjeet also talked about the preparation of the team ahead of the Asian Games and highlighted the approaches, he said, “The preparations have been going well under the guidance of Craig Fulton. We have been working on our weaknesses and making sure that we don’t make the same mistakes again.”

I have been with the team for the last one and a half years and the senior players in the squad are very approachable. They guide us properly and help us in improving our game. For me personally, I am working on improving my skills and shooting techniques,” he added.

Eyeing direct qualification to the Paris Olympics 2024, the Indian Men’s Hockey Team will open their Asian Games campaign against Uzbekistan on 24 September 2023.

In the presence of honorable dignitaries from the Sports fraternity and over 600 athletes, the country’s corporate sector joined hands in support of building a sporting nation. One of them is the Sports for All (SFA) Championships. Enabling a platform to identify the best sporting talent and ensuring young athletes experience the joy of playing multiple sports, SFA Championships is bringing school sports to center stage.

Founder of SFA, Rishikesh Joshi, present at the event expressed his immense joy and wished luck to the athletes, Joshi said, “Enabling access to sports at the grassroots level is pivotal to development and growth of our communities and the nation at large. Our focused purpose is to reshape the landscape of sports in India and engrain it into the heart and soul of the nation's identity.”

“Democratizing access to sports tech as a platform for school athletes is what makes SFA’s endeavor unique. As our Indian contingent heads out for the Asian Games, this definitely marks the beginning of becoming a sporting powerhouse,” he added.