A curious script is being played out in Punjab as part of the ongoing World T20. A former India hockey team captain who led the national team to several international titles is one of the people in charge of security for teams which will be playing at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.
Rajpal Singh, who was India captain as recently as in 2011, and had led the team to a Sultan Azlan Shah trophy, a first ever Commonwealth Games medal and an Asian Men Hockey Champions Trophy title, is now the DSP (Traffic) of the city of Mohali. Yet another former hockey player, who had donned India colours in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, Gagan Ajit Singh, is now posted as Superintendent of Police in the city.
It is a worthwhile question to be asked if this kind of a situation could ever have arisen if there had not been the wide gulf of popularity of cricket and other sports in India, but the former hockey stars are happy to be on this assignment.
Spirit remains same, only field has changed: Rajpal
About his current role, Gagan Ajit said, "It's always an honour to don the uniform. First we were serving the country as sportspersons, now we are serving the nation through the police force. I joined the police force in 2007. Doing duty in uniform is always a special feeling."
Mohali is to host three high-profile Group 2 matches, starting with Pakistan vs New Zealand on Tuesday. The hockey star-turned-police SP says that security arrangements are at an all-time high. On his sporting background, he said, "There are a lot of Olympians and Arjun awardees in the police. Besides Rajpal and me, there is Baljit Dhillon, Jugraj Singh, then there is Kamalpreet, Tejbir, so we have lot of officers with sports background.”
Rajpal had been removed from the captaincy because he had led a players’ revolt in protest of not enough rewards after the Champions Trophy triumph, as it had been assumed, but he does not hold any grudges in his present occupation.
He said, "I can say one thing that only the colour of uniform has changed. First we used to turn out for our country wearing blues and now we are dressed in the khakis. But job remains the same, which is to serve the nation. The spirit remains the same, only field has changed."
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