'I cried when I got selected in Olympics squad': Hockey midfielder Raj Kumar Pal

New Delhi: Raj Kumar Pal, men’s hockey team midfielder is all set to represent India in the 2024 Paris Olympics. A vital cog in the Indian team, Raj Kumar first came in the spotlight when he was selected for a five-nation U-23 tournament in Belgium in 2018.

The youngest of three brothers who took to hockey, Raj Kumar’s journey from the streets of Karampur is a tale in itself. His elder brothers, Jokhan and Raju, are former hockey players too, and he proudly says that there was no other sport to turn to but hockey.

Raj Kumar joined the Meghbaran stadium at age 10, where coach Tej Bahadur Singh took an interest in all three of the Pal brothers. In 2012, he joined the SAI Lucknow hostel and was drawn towards the pace and style of Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, who had been a batchmate of Jokhan’s.

Upadhyay also became his close friend when he earned his first India camp call-up. Talking about his relationship with Lalit, Raj Kumar expressed, "I was always encouraged by Lalit bhai who made me understand that it was okay to make mistakes but the most important part is to learn from those mistakes and never make them again. He has always supported me. Most of the time, after we have played a match, I used to pick his brains on what mistakes I made in the match, and where I can improve myself and he always used to tell me very calmly."

High-performance director David John then spotted his talent at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Hostel in 2018 during the Senior National Championships and called him up for a national camp with the senior Indian men’s hockey team.

Now, Raj Kumar has his attention on the Paris Olympics and he looks to take it one game at a time. "My entire focus is on Paris Olympics. I know what is at stake here and there is no room to make any mistakes whatsoever. I am taking nothing for granted and planning to take one game at a time,” said Raj Kumar Pal, who has earned 53 international caps till date.

"It has been a dream for me to represent my country at the Olympics. I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time now and now that I am here, it feels surreal. When I got the news of my selection in the Olympics-bound team, I cried remembering what I have been through and I missed my father. When I called home, I remember my mother crying, but those were happy tears. My family has sacrificed a lot and it is about time that I pay them back with a Gold Medal," he signed off.

India will commence their Paris 2024 Olympics campaign on July 27 when they take on New Zealand in their first Pool B match.