Araijeet chases father's dream after promising start

For Araijeet Singh Hundal, choosing a profession other than hockey was never an option. With his father Kuljit Singh Hundal and his three uncles being former national level players, conversations over dinner rarely ever shifted away from the sport.

The same conversations led the senior Hundal to take his son to the ground.

“My father helped me start with hockey. He was my coach. He used to take me to the ground. He used to play for the Railways and he’d take me to watch him play, which increased my interest. From childhood I knew I was going to play hockey. I’d go to watch him play inter-railway tournaments. I used to sit with his friends who would only talk about hockey,” said Araijeet.

Despite being selected for the national camp in 1999, Kuljit never made the cut for the Indian team, leading him to back his son to play the sport with the hope of representing India one day. “Since he could not play for India, his dream was that I don the India colours,” said the 19-year-old.

That dream finally came true when Araijeet was selected to represent India at the 2021 Junior Hockey World Cup. Though India failed to medal, the lad from Amritsar scored five goals, including a hat-trick, immediately cementing his place in the junior national side.

His prowess grew when he helped India win the 2022 Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia, scoring three goals in the invitational tournament. Earlier this month, he played a pivotal role in helping India win the Junior Asia Cup in Oman by being the second highest scorer of the tournament and highest for India with eight goals.

Araijeet’s speed, ball control and scoring ability were at their best as he scored four goals in India’s opener. In all, he scored in five of the six India matches and also hammered the winning goal in the final against Pakistan.

“My father appreciated my performance. He told me to keep playing well. He watches my matches and if I make mistakes, tells me the errors so that I can get better. He is always there to boost me,” said Araijeet.

Araijeet’s speed, shots on goal, 3D skills in the striking circle are some traits that have not just helped in his selection but also guided the India colts to win matches. But his unique attribute and role of a striker-cum-drag-flicker is his calling card. Barring a few exceptions, traditionally penalty corner (PC) specialists are generally defenders as forwards are normally loaded with the objective of scoring field goals.

“It is my plus point. When I used to hit field goals, I noticed that in foreign countries, their strikers also hit drag-flicks. I thought I have the strength to drag so why not try it out? It is then that I started drag-flicking more seriously. There are some top forwards who are also drag-flickers like Tom Boon (Belgium) and Ashley Jackson (England). I used to watch them and liked their style. I wanted to become the first from India who does both,” said the tall forward, who hails from Amritsar.

"I started drag-flicking in 2016. I had watched players like Rupinder Pal Singh on TV and started trying out flicks. Initially it was for fun but then I really started liking it. It was then that drag-flicks took a serious turn," said the 19-year-old, who idolises German World Cup winner Christopher Ruhr.

Having already represented India in juniors, Araijeet wants to complete his father’s dream by playing for the senior side, the ticket to which could be earned via the Junior World Cup that will be held in Kuala Lumpur in December.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.