Manpreet, who will be captaining the Indian Men’s Hockey team, and taking part in his third Olympic Games, was in buoyant mood with just a month to go for the Olympics.
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Indian Men’s Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh stated that his team has a great chance of making its presence felt in the Tokyo Olympics, and returning with a medal. Manpreet expressed his pride on leading a group of boys who are really excited and motivated to fulfil their ambitions. The hockey star believes that the team can repeat history, adding that he is well aware of the history and expectations from the team.
“As a hockey player, the biggest dream that I’ve had is to win an Olympic medal for our country. We have a great chance to do that in Tokyo, and I am proud that I’ll be leading a group of boys who are really excited and motivated to fulfil our ambitions. We know the history and the expectations, but we believe that we can repeat history,” said Manpreet in an interaction with Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson.
The hockey star was invited by Samson for a special Instagram Live session wherein the two athletes were involved in a freewheeling conversation. The session was organised to mark the occasion of International Olympic Day and to wish the Olympic-bound athletes the very best for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. Sport is a medium of participation irrespective of age, gender, caste or religion. It was only justified that two of India’s supreme athletes helped cricket and hockey cross paths.
The session’s topic was ‘Let’s Talk Olympics’. The objective of RR is to get conversations going around the Olympics and the athletes who are set to represent and bring glory to the country in Tokyo. Manpreet who is taking part in his third Olympic Games will be one of them. The hockey star further received best wishes from Samson for the mega-event.
“We will be following you and the team, and making sure that you receive our support throughout the competition. I can understand that it’s a huge opportunity for all of you, and on behalf of the Rajasthan Royals family, I would like to send our best wishes to you and the entire team. I am sure you will make us proud,” said the RR skipper.
Samson is set to represent India in a limited-overs series against Sri Lanka next month, for which Manpreet sent his best wishes to the Rajasthan-based franchise’s skipper.
Both the athletes were able to discuss freely when asked to share their pain on being forced to stay away from their respective favourite sport for the most part of last year due to the outbreak of COVID with the Olympics getting postponed to 2021, and the IPL being played in the UAE in late 2020.
“I think we realized how important our sport is to us, and that we can’t live without it. It was so difficult to stay away from the field when COVID first struck, but we are glad to be heading back onto the field again,” said Samson.
Sending an important message in unison, both the athletes were also seen advising their fans to “make sure to follow the guidelines, take care of each other’s mental & physical health, and get vaccinated as soon as they have the chance, so that the nation can emerge from the pandemic soon, and various sports can welcome fans back in the stadiums again.”
