With 370 appearances for India, Manpreet is a veteran in the sport. Illi, the region head of the South Asia market for one of the top universities in Malaysia, is also a mother to their 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Jasmine Kaur Powar.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cDelighted. We are super proud, super excited, and super stoked to see him play his fourth Olympics. Seeing him do what he loves and what he is meant to do makes the family very happy and delighted. When I speak to his mother, we always say that the journey from playing his first game, his first tournament, to going on to play his fourth Olympics is something we never imagined. But he keeps proving himself, and he loves playing for the nation,\u201d Illi said in the latest episode of \u2018Hockey Te Charcha, Familia,\u2019 a unique series launched by hockey India ahead of the Olympic Games.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Last year, the Indian men\u2019s hockey team won gold at the Hangzhou Asian Games, securing automatic qualification for the Paris Olympics, marking Manpreet\u2019s fourth appearance in this prestigious competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In 2016, Manpreet Singh lost his father while playing in the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. He flew back to attend the funeral.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI was in Indonesia a day before the incident happened. We talked to his father, and he said he was excited to see Manpreet play and wanted his son to win the competition. When we broke the news to Manpreet, he was devastated and unsure of what to do. He said, 'I don't think I should go back. The team needs me. This is what my father wanted from me; I shouldn't leave them,\u2019\u201d Illi revealed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI advised him to take a day and settle things at home. When we reached his home, there wasn\u2019t a single tear from his eyes when he saw his father's body. And when we sat next to his father's body, he said, 'I have come to see you off and I'm going to keep making you proud no matter what. I'm going back. My team needs me.\u2019\u201d added Saddique.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Manpreet returned to join the team and played the next match against Canada, which India won 3-1. The 32-year-old has been instrumental in India's rise in hockey over the past decade. He was part of the 2014 Asian Games Gold and the Asian Champions Trophy Silver in 2016 and 2017. He led the Indian team to an Asia Cup victory in 2017 and, most significantly, led the Indian men\u2019s hockey team to a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAs his wife, I was super proud that he gave his everything. I remember he restricted his communication with us. He switched off his phone and social media to focus entirely on the Olympics, and it all paid off with him bringing back the Bronze medal under his captaincy. It was a proud, emotional moment, something we will never forget,\u201d she added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Manpreet returned to join the team and played the next match against Canada, which India won 3-1. The 32-year-old has been instrumental in India's rise in hockey over the past decade. He was part of the 2014 Asian Games Gold and the Asian Champions Trophy Silver in 2016 and 2017. He led the Indian team to an Asia Cup victory in 2017 and, most significantly, led the Indian men\u2019s hockey team to a historic bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics.<\/p>\r\n\r\n