Sandeep Singh (born 27 February 1986) is an Indian professional

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player from

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

and an ex-captain of the Indian national hockey team. He generally features as a full back and is a penalty corner specialist for the team. He has been dubbed "Flicker Singh" in the media for his specialization of the drag-flick, one of the fastest in the world. Singh holds a DSP rank in the Haryana Police. He has been elected as MLA in 2019 from Pehowa constituency in Kurukshetra, Haryana from

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

. He served as the Sports Minister of

and resigned from the post on 1 January 2023, after the Haryana police registered a case against him for sexual assault complaint.

Early life

Singh hails from Shahabad town in Kurukshetra, Haryana. He was educated at

Shivalik Public School, Mohali Shivalik Public School (SPS) is an English-medium, private, co-educational residential-cum-day school located in Sector 56, Mohali, India, with three subsidiaries in Chandigarh, Patiala, and Nawanshahr. The school was established in 1970.It is ...

. Sandeep was born to Gurucharan Singh Saini and Daljeet Kaur Saini. Sandeep has an older brother, Bikramjeet, also a field hockey player who plays for Indian Oil.

Career

International hockey

Sandeep's international debut was in January 2004 in Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur. He took over as the captain of the Indian national team in January 2009, and Rajpal Singh succeeded him later in 2010. Singh is a well known drag-flicker. At a time he was said to have the best speed in the world in drag flick (speed 145 km/h). Under his captaincy, the Indian team managed to clinch the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in 2009 after defeating

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

in the finals at Ipoh. India won the title after a long wait of 13 years. Singh was also the top goal scorer of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament. The

India men's national field hockey team The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team t ...

have qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London after a gap of 8 years. The team had a resounding victory over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the finals of the Olympic qualifiers by beating France 9–1. Ace drag-flicker Singh starred in the final against France by scoring five goals – including a hat-trick – all from penalty corners (19th, 26th, 38th, 49th and 51st minutes). Singh was the highest scorer of the Olympic qualifiers tournament by scoring 16 goals.

Club career

Sandeep Singh became the fifth highest-paid marquee player at the inaugural Hockey India League as the Mumbai franchise bought him for US$64,400 with his base price being US$27,800. The Mumbai team has been named Mumbai Magicians. Scoring 11 goals in 12 games, Singh emerged as the top scorer in the first edition of the league. In 2014, he was signed by Punjab Warriors. After playing two seasons for the team, he was signed by Ranchi Rays for US$81,000 in 2015 starting

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. In 2014, Singh relocated to the UK to play for Havant Hockey Club. On 22 August 2006, Singh was seriously injured after being hit by an accidental gunshot in the '' Kalka Shatabdi Express'' train, while on his way to join the national team due to leave for the World Cup in Africa two days later. He was almost paralyzed and on the wheelchair for 1 year of his life. He was 20 at that time. Singh not only recovered from that serious injury but also established himself again and played world cup for India in 2010 Indian team.

Political career

Sandeep Singh was elected from Pehowa constituency as Member of Legislative Assembly (Haryana) from

during the 2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly election. He was sworn in as Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs (MoS) and Minister of Printing and Stationery (MoS) (Independent Charge).

Career achievements

* Sandeep Singh scored the most goals and won the Man of the Tournament award in the 2009 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. * Scoring 16 goals, Singh was the leading goal scorer in the qualifying tournament for the 2012 London Olympics - scored five goals in the final. *April 2004: Junior Asia Cup top scorer - scored 16 goals. * 2008: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup - Sundeep was top scorer. * 2009: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup - Sundeep was top scorer. * 2010: Asia Games top scorer - scored 11 goals. * 2010: World record for fastest drag flick - 145 km/h. *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

: Hockey India League - Top scorer - 11 goals in 12 games. *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

: Hockey India League - Top scorer - 11 goals. Sandeep singh hockey player 2004

Awards

* 2010: Arjuna Award recipient for achievements in

. *2012: Olympic qualifier tournament gold medal. * 2009: Sultan Azlan Shah Cup - Best Player.

In popular culture

Indian filmmaker

Shaad Ali Shaad Ali is an Indian filmmaker. Early life and education Ali was born to Muzaffar Ali and Subhashini Ali (née Sahgal), an Indian politician and member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is thus the grandson of Azad Hind Fauj co ...

made a biographical film, titled '' Soorma'' (), based on Singh's life.

Diljit Dosanjh Daljit Singh Dosanjh known professionally as Diljit Dosanjh (born 6 January 1984) is an Indian singer, actor, film producer and television personality. He works in Punjabi Music and subsequently in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. Dosanjh entered ...

played Sandeep Singh's role in the film. It was released on 13 July 2018. The film also stars Taapsee Pannu and

Angad Bedi Angad Singh Bedi (born 6 February 1983) is an Indian actor and former model. He made his debut with '' Kaya Taran'' in 2004, an adaptation of a Malayalam short story by N. S. Madhavan, ''Vanmarangal Veezhumpol (When the Big Trees Fall)''. He ha ...

. Singh appeared as a judge on the Indian reality television series MTV Roadies ( ''Roadies: Real Heroes'') on MTV India.

Controversy

In December 2022, a junior athletics coach filed a complaint alleging that Sandeep Singh had sexually harassed her. Following this, a case was registered against Singh on 1 January 2023 for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation. The woman complained that Sandeep Singh called her to his camp office and sexually assaulted her. He denied the allegation and alleged that the complaint aims to commit personal vendetta against him. He resigned from the post of Sports Minister following the registration of case against him and handed over his portfolio to Chief Minister.

References

External links

*
Sandeep Singh's profile
on Bhartiya Hockey * *

12 May 2005.
Sport Channel.in

Sandeep Singh powers India to London Olympics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sandeep 1986 births Living people Field hockey players from Haryana People from Kurukshetra district Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in field hockey World Series Hockey players Field hockey players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Indian police officers Olympic field hockey players of India Field hockey players at the 2010 Asian Games Indian male field hockey players Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey Asian Games bronze medalists for India Hockey India League players Havant Hockey Club players Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Haryana Haryana MLAs 2019–2024 Field hockey players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup players