Born on 26 June 1992, Manpreet Singh is the captain of the Indian Field Hockey Team since May 2017. His playing position is Midfielder, and he was also a part of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Early life: Born in the outskirts of Jalandhar in a village named Mithapur, Manpreet belongs to a farming family. He began playing hockey when he was 9 years old. In 2005, he joined the Surjit Hockey Academy, his first debut was made in 2011. During the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2013, he met a Malaysian Lili Najwa Saddique and then they tied knots in Punjab on 16th December 2020.
Before playing hockey, he used to focus on PlayStation, Punjabi music usually of Honey Singh or Diljit Dosanjh, he also used to practice yoga. He really liked playing play station and used to carry it along everywhere he used to go. He likes movies based on sports and is a big fan of Salman Khan. He also wishes to try acting in a movie.
His dream: His biggest aim is to act as an inspiration for youngsters and encourage them to play sports. Not to say he also wishes to win big for India.
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His family & his interest in Hockey: He was inspired by the former Indian captain of field hockey Padma Shri Pargat Singh who himself belongs to Mithapur village. His elder brothers also played hockey and it acted as an attraction for him. His mother was not a supporter of him playing hockey and had locked him in a room when he was only 10-years-old. He escaped the room and went to his coach, after which he the coach told his elder brother how keen Manpreet was and that he should be given a chance to at least try.
After his win in a tournament where he won INR 500 cash, his family started supporting him. He then got enrolled in Surjit Hockey Academy, Jalandhar. He idolizes former German captain, Moritz Furste and holds Sardar Singh as an inspiration. He is a fan of David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo, and like them only he wears a 7 number jersey.
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His Achievements: He first represented India in the 2012 London Olympics, in the next year he won gold in Men’s Hockey Junior World Cup and in the 2013 Sultan of Johor Cup. He is a silver medalist of the Commonwealth Games and gold medalist at the Asian Games. In 2017, he won bronze in Hockey World League Finals, and named victory of the Indian team in the Asia Cup. In 2018, he won bronze in the Asian Games, silver in Champions Trophy, and gold in the Asian Champions Trophy serving as a captain. he is the only 6th hockey player to be the honor of being India's flag-bearer at the Olympics.
Awards: In 2018, he was presented with Arjuna Award by the Indian authorities. In 2019, at the FIH Player of the Year Awards, he was awarded the best men’s player.
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He is the richest Indian Hockey player having net worth $8-$10 million and earns Rs 50,000 monthly as part of the Ministry of youth Affairs and Sports flagship program, TOPS. Currently, he is leading the Indian Hockey Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, bringing back the glory of the Indian hockey team. They have entered the Quarter-finals after defeating japan in Pool A and their match is scheduled today against Britain.