Yashdeep Siwach gunning to do well at Junior Hockey World Cup 

Hockey runs in young Yashdeep Siwach's blood. The defender, who is an integral part of the Indian men's junior hockey team, is the son of former Indian women's hockey team captain and Arjuna awardee Pritam Siwach.

Yashdeep Siwach is part of the Indian junior men's team's core probabales. They are currently training at the national camp at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Center in Bengaluru, alongside the Indian senior men's hockey team.

Speaking about the training stint at the SAI Center, Yashdeep Siwach, in a statement from Hockey India, said it would be a big occasion for India to defend their title on their home ground.

“The excitement and anticipation in the camp is really high because being hosts for such a prestigious competition and having the chance to be crowned World Champions on home territory is a wonderful feeling," he said. "We are preparing by playing practice matches against the senior men's team, which is an Olympic medal-winning side, which plays at the highest level of international hockey. We can feel the improvements in our team after training with the senior team.”

Yashdeep Siwach's rapid rise in hockey

Yashdeep Siwach began training in hockey at a relatively late age of 16, when his peers all started much earlier. However, he has made vast improvements to his game in a very short span and the defender credits his steep learning curve to being included in the national camp at SAI, Bengaluru, at an early age.

Read: Vivek Sagar Prasad and team eye podium finish at upcoming FIH Odisha Hockey Men's Junior World Cup

Siwach was a member of the Indian junior hockey team which won a silver medal at the 2019 Sultan of Johor Cup in Malaysia. Speaking about his learnings and the national camp, Yashdeep Siwach said:

“When I came to the national camp for the first time, it was a very new experience for me because I had never been used to living away from my home until that point. I was still relatively new to hockey until then so I was not used to that feeling, but I quickly took the opportunity and learned a lot at that time.

"The Indian men's senior hockey team also used to practice at the same facility in SAI, and I took the opportunity to watch them train closely and speak to some of the players," he added. "That was a chance for me to learn quickly and improve my game a lot."

The defender was never short of any motivation or training at home either. He never had to look beyond his mother for improvements to his game to become a better player.

"I started playing hockey by following my mother when I was very young," said Siwach. "My mother is the former captain of the Indian women's hockey team, therefore, hockey has always been in my blood. I have always followed her example and have wished to emulate her achievements.

"The first time I ever visited a hockey ground as a child was along with my mother," he added. "As my interest grew in the sport, there was no looking back for me then. Gradually, I started training with my mother and she was my first proper hockey coach."