Manpreet Singh is an Indian hockey player. He rose to prominence in 2021, when India won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics (Tokyo) under his leadership. This was India’s first Olympic medal in hockey since 1980.
Manpreet Singh is an Indian hockey player. He was born on 26 June 1992 in Mithapur, Jalandhar, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Cancer. He comes from a Sikh family. His father’s name is Baljeet Singh, and his mother’s name is Manjeet Kaur.
Manpreet has two brothers, Amandeep Singh who works as a truck driver in Italy, and Sukhraj Singh.
He is married to Illi Najwa Saddique. The couple has a daughter, Jasmine.
His hobbies include meditation, listening to music, exercising, playing on play station, travelling with friends and watching films.
He has a tattoo of a tiger on his right leg. He has got 'ੴ' or 'Ek Omkar' written on his right hand. The symbol means ‘God is one’.
Manpreet’s favourites
He likes to eat pizza.
His favourite sports are hockey and football.
Manpreet is a fan of players, Christiano Ronaldo, David Beckham, Sergio Ramos, Tony Kroos, Luka Modric, Eden Hazard and Mary Kom.
He is a supporter of Real Madrid CF.
His favourite hockey players are Moritz Furste, Sardar Singh and Pargat Singh.
Salman Khan is his favourite Bollywood actor.
Some of his most loved films are, Chak De India (2007), Bhag Milkha Bhag (2013) and MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016).
Manpreet admires the music of Diljeet Dosanjh, Honey Singh, Garry Sandhu and Karan Aujla.
He stays healthy with leg press and squat exercises.
Interesting facts about Manpreet
Manpreet Singh became the captain of the Indian men's national field hockey team on 18 May 2017. He rose to prominence in 2021, when India won the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics (Tokyo) under his leadership. This was India’s first Olympic medal in hockey since 1980.
His village boasts of a rich hockey heritage for raising great players like Swaroop Singh, Kulwant Singh and ‘Padma Shri’ awardee Pargat Singh.
He was keen to learn this game since his childhood. His brothers have played hockey for Punjab in the national championships.
Manpreet's mother Manjit Kaur did several odd jobs to support her family after Manpreet’s father suffered from mental health issues and had to give up his career.
Manpreet's mother did not support him in playing hockey during his childhood. But he won Rs 500 in his first hockey game, his mother decided to support him.
Manpreet’s inspiration
In the year 2005, he started training at Surjeet Hockey Academy in Jalandhar, which is considered as one of the best hockey academies in India.
Manpreet was inspired by Pargat Singh, the former captain of the Indian hockey team, who hails from Manpreet's village Mithapur.
Manpreet had to face a lot of difficulties before earning his place in the Indian men's field hockey team. A knee injury in 2009 sidelined him for almost a year.
Leading the junior team
In the year 2012, he represented India in the men's field hockey tournament at the Summer Olympics in London, UK.
In the year 2013, he became the captain of the junior hockey tournament, Men's Hockey Junior World Cup held in New Delhi.
He played as a captain in 3rd Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. India's junior team displayed exceptional skills to defeat England, Argentina, Pakistan and South Korea in this prestigious tournament. In the final match, India won a gold medal by defeating the host country team Malaysia with a score 3-0.
In the year 2014, he was part of the BPCL team that won the Scindia Gold Cup hockey tournament by defeating Central Railway 3-1 in Gwalior.
In 2014, he was part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the Asian Games. They defeated Pakistan with 4-2 in the final match.
The same year, his team won a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
In the year 2015, his team 'Ranchi Rays' won the Hero Hockey India League.
In 2016, after a wait of 38 years, India made it to the finals of the Men's Hockey Champions Trophy and won the silver medal, defeating Australia with 3–1.
Grappling with the loss
On 6 April 2016, Manpreet received the news of his father's sudden death, hours before the opening match of Japan vs India in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. As a result, Manpreet was sent back home mid-tournament. As soon as the death rites were over, Manpreet's mother encouraged him to return to the tournament.
The Australian team paid an emotional tribute to Manpreet's father by observing a minute's silence and wearing a black band. Although India won the opening match of Japan vs India by 1–2, but the Indian team lost to world champions Australia with 1–5 in Manpreet's absence.
Manpreet’s debut as a captain
On 18 May 2017, he made his captaincy debut for the Indian men's hockey team, leading India to a gold medal at the 2017 Men's Hockey Asia Cup.
Under his captaincy, India won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games, silver at the 2018 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy and gold at the 2018 Men's Asian Champions Trophy.
In the year 2018, German sportswear company Adidas signed Manpreet Singh as their brand ambassador in India.
For his achievements in field hockey, the Government of Punjab honoured him with the rank of DSP in the Punjab Police.
He is a PlayStation enthusiast and carries it with him wherever he goes.
Manpreet’s marriage
On 16 December 2020, Manpreet married with Illi Najwa Saddique, she is a former Malaysian hockey player.
He was the flag bearer for India during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo. India won a bronze medal at the Summer Olympics, the first Olympic medal in hockey since 1980.
He is an ambassador of Score, an online hockey platform that connects hockey players, coaches, fans and clubs.
Awards
In the year 2014, he was awarded Asia's ‘Junior Player of the Year’.
In 2015, Manpreet was awarded the ‘Hockey India Annual Award’.
In 2015 he became the AHF (Asian Hockey Federation) Player of the Year.
In the year 2018, he was awarded the ‘Arjuna Award’ by the former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
In 2019, he was named FIH (Federation Internationale de Hockey) ‘Player of the Year’. The same year he was awarded the ‘Hockey India Dhruv Batra Player of the Year Award’.
In the year 2021, he was felicitated with the prestigious ‘Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award’.
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