Having left gaming for hockey stick, Amandeep fulfils parents’ dream with India debut

Rourkela: Amandeep Lakra was 10 years old when one day his mother Fulkumari found him playing video games on the computer rather than heading to the tuitions. Angry, she gave him a sound scolding before telling him, “If you want to play, go out and play hockey.”
That was the start of Amandeep’s hockey journey. Before that he used to fiddle with the stick, play some cricket and even some football. But that day changed everything for the now 23-year-old who made his debut for India against Belgium in the FIH Pro League on Saturday.
And his parents couldn’t have been prouder for what he has achieved after years of hard work and dedication. His father Bijay Kumar Lakra, a coach with more than 30 years of experience, was the one who trained him with patience.
By age 12, he got selected to Panposh Sports Hostel where Bijay was then a coach and later shifted to Sundergarh after his father also got transferred there. But sadly, he couldn’t break into the junior national camp despite his best efforts for years.
“I told him just ahead of the junior nationals in 2021 that you will have to give it all the time because it’s the last chance for you to make the junior camp,” recalled his father with tears in his eyes sitting at the staff quarters besides the Panposh Sports Hostel where he has rejoined.
That year Odisha won bronze in the junior nationals and Amandeep was adjudged the best defender of the tournament. More importantly, he got selected to the national camp and there has been no looking back for him since then.
He has been part of numerous junior tournaments since then, including the junior World Cup in 2023 and was the top scorer in the 2023 Sultan of Johor Cup. He made his first big impression among the seniors during last year’s HIL and became part of the India A team.
Finally, he impressed one and all during this HIL where he won the player of the tournament award. Not only did he score nine goals from the penalty corners, but also did well in defence.
His mother, however, couldn’t help but go back to the days when he was really pushed by his father. “One day he came and asked me, ‘What does father think of me?’,” recollected Fulkumari. “I told him that he believes you can play for India.”
It’s after he heard those words that Amandeep put his heart and soul into training and, on Saturday evening, made his debut for the national side in front of a packed Birsa Munda Hockey stadium that is just less than 2km away from where he grew up.
By doing so he not only fulfilled his dream but also his parents’ dream and now just hopes to make the best of the opportunity. “I got to learn a lot from Harmanpreet about the penalty corners. He told me about what needs to be done during retakes if I fail to convert the PCs in the first instance,” said Amandeep.
Hopefully, all this learning will come to good use with time and he will be able to make an impact in the days to come.