Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 138th episode of Mann Ki Baat programme appreciated Hockey Olympian from Punjab, Rajinder Singh Senior for his efforts to discover and coach sports talent from the villages of the state.

Lauding him for pursuing his passion through the Round Glass Hockey Academy to train children in hockey in villages, the prime minister said that Mr Rajinder has a very clear focus in identifying children that lack access to excellent coaching facilities at village level.

Akashvani correspondent reports that Olympian Rajinder Singh was part of the gold medal-winning Indian hockey team at the 1980 Olympics. He played his last international match in the 1982 Champions Trophy, which India won from Pakistan and got a Bronze medal with him converting three penalty corners into goals.

He joined the Sports Authority of India in 1990 and started his coaching career.

During his tenure, the sub-junior and Junior Hockey Teams achieved many national awards. After his retirement from SAI, this Dronacharya awardee joined Round Glass Sports Academy in 2020 and started nurturing young talent from villages to make them national-level players.

He told Akashvani that at present, the academy is running 60 Hockey academies in Punjab, in which 3000 budding players, including girls between 6 to 8 age groups are learning the nuances of this National sport.

The Olympian, who is fulfilling his passion, thanked the Prime Minister for appreciating his efforts and said that his inspirational words would not only inspire him to work with more vigor but inspire other coaches also. He assured to continue coaching the young talent to build a strong hockey team for India.