Five things you should know about Akashdeep Singh

The 21-year old forward has made a splash of late in the world of Indian hockey but not much is known about this young turk, so here goes.

Young striker Akashdeep Singh has been in the news lately for being the most expensive Indian buy in the Hockey India League (HIL). The Punjab lad went for a cool $84,000, pipping veteran drag-flick expert Sandeep Singh as the top buy. He ended up overshadowing much celebrated midfielder Sardar Singh by a big margin. Here’s why he is so sought after:

India Call-Up

GREG WOOD / AFP

He was called up to the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy in December 2012 at the tender age of 18. And how did to come to know about it? He read it on the internet!

A Real Fast-Mover

A fast, tricky forward with a good eye for goals, he was selected for the India senior team before elder brother Prabhdeep Singh – senior by two years and still playing junior-level hockey.

Admiration For Messi

Akashdeep loves watching football, especially when FC Barcelona plays. He is unsurprisingly a big Lionel Messi fan. So much so that he even tries to incorporate some of the tricks used by Messi in his own game!

The Big Moment

Scored the winning goal in the 2014 Asian Games final at Incheon against Korea which granted India automatic qualification to the 2016 Rio Olympics. So he has proven that he can deliver when needed.

Playing With The Best

Considers India captain Sardar Singh as his role model and dreams of playing alongside champion Dutch player and three-time World Hockey of the Year, Teun de Nooijer. Good aspirations from the up and coming star.


 source:zevenworld.com