Thaindian News

By Abhishek Roy
New Delhi, March 3 (IANS) It is a rare story of an Indian father and his Kenya-born son — both taking to hockey, but across the continental divide.

Meet Canada’s star forward in the ongoing Hockey World Cup Ranjeev Deol, whose late father Surjeet Singh Deol was a Kenyan hockey Olympian.

Surjeet shifted base from Ludhiana in Punjab to far-off Kenya and then went on to represent the African nation in three Olympics (1956, 1960 and 1964).

Surjeet passed away when Ranjeev was five. Ranjeev and his mother fell on tough times and moved to Ontario in Canada in 1993 in search of better living.

But Surjeet’s legacy was enough to shape the future of Ranjeev, who took his first nervous steps in hockey with a club Toronto Lions and made his way into the Canadian team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

“Hockey is in my blood. And it is a great feeling to play the World Cup in India, where my roots are. My father would have been proud of me if he was alive,” Ranjeev said here Wednesday at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.

“My mother has played a crucial role in my life. My father passed away when I was very young. But my mother struggled hard to bring me up. My mother was undoubtedly a role model for me, but my father was an idol for me on the turf. I am happy that I have fulfilled my dream,” said Deol, who sports his father’s name on left arm and mother’s name on the right.

Deol said turning out in hockey leagues in the Netherlands and England helped him mature as a player.

“Today Europeans are dominating world hockey. I learnt a lot playing in those leagues,” he said.

Asked if he would visit his native village in Ludhiana, Ranjeev said: “I have a lot of friends in India and I am also close to some of the Indian players, who hail from Punjab. I will surely try to visit Ludhiana this time.”