Mandeep Singh
Mandeep Singh, the most potent wiry striker in the Junior Hockey World Cup tournament held in
December 2016, was born on 25th January 1995 at Jalandhar, Punjab. He started playing hockey for Surjeet
Hockey Academy Jalandhar. After Hockey India Leauge Auction in December 2012, he played for Ranchi
Rhinos. His wonderful performance in all the matches played for the Rhinos brought him Ponty Chadha
Trophy for the Upcoming Player of the Tournament award after scoring ten goals in thirteen matches
and being the second top scorer throughout the tournament. After that he made his debut in the National
Hockey Team. Since then he has been playing for the Hockey League, Senior Team as well as Junior Team.
He could not be selected for Rio Olympics because of finger ingury. However when he showed his best in
the Junior World Cup, he became a role model player. He attracted attention not only because he scored 3
goals, but mainly because of the goal-scoring opportunities he created, especially against defensively tight
teams, that made him standout. He was at his pestering best against England, as he kept finding the space in
a packed English third with brilliantly-timed runs, winning two crucial penalty corners, one of which led to
the equaliser. Mandeep Singh was named the Man of the Match in all the three pool matches.
