Jalandhar’s Gurinder Singh Sangha has been appointed by the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF) as umpire manager at the 20th Asian Games hockey competition that will be held from September 18 to October 3.
Sangha is a physical education lecturer at Olympian Manpreet Singh Government Senior Secondary School, Mithapur.
Sangha has served prominent international games like the Asian Games, Olympic qualifiers and Asia Cup.
“The day I am taken out of the ground is the day I will breathe my last,” said Sangha, expressing his passion, love and admiration for the sport. The 54-year-old international hockey umpire hails from Jandu Sangha in the city.
He started playing when he was 13. He studied at Doaba Khalsa Senior Secondary School and played at the school, district, state and national levels.
Sangha’s father, who was in the Air Force, was also an international-level hockey player. “I also wanted to represent my country but because of some reasons, I couldn’t do it. That hurt me a lot, but I didn’t want to leave sports. So, I decided to take up teaching and coaching,” he told The Tribune.
He has already added several feathers to his cap by winning many accolades.
