Raj Kumar Pal: From Karampur Streets to Paris Olympics 2024

Raj Kumar Pal, the midfielder in the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, is all set to represent India in the Paris Olympics 2024. A vital cog in the Indian team, Raj Kumar Pal first came into the spotlight when he was selected for a five-nation U-23 tournament in Belgium in 2018.

The youngest of three brothers who took to hockey, Raj Kumar’s journey from the streets of Karampur is a tale in itself. Raj Kumar’s elder brothers, Jokhan and Raju, are former hockey players too, and he proudly says that there was no other sport to turn to but hockey.

Raj Kumar joined the Meghbaran stadium at age 10, where coach Tej Bahadur Singh took an interest in all three of the Pal brothers. In 2012, Raj Kumar joined the SAI Lucknow hostel, and was drawn towards the pace and style of Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, who had been a batchmate of Jokhan’s. Upadhyay also became his close friend when he earned his first India camp call-up.

Talking about his relationship with Lalit, Raj Kumar expresses, “I was always encouraged by Lalit bhai, who made me understand that it was okay to make mistakes but the most important part is to learn from those mistakes and never make them again. He has always supported me. Most of the time, after we played a match, I used to pick his brains on what mistakes I did in the match, where I could improve myself and he always used to tell me very calmly.”

High-performance director David John then spotted his talent at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) Hostel in 2018 during the Senior National Championships and called him up for a national camp with the senior Indian men’s hockey team.

Now, Raj Kumar’s has his attention on the Paris Olympics and he looks to take it one game at a time. “My entire focus is on Paris Olympics. I know what is at stake here and there is no room to make any mistakes whatsoever. I am taking nothing for granted and planning to take one game at a time,” said Raj Kumar Pal, who has earned 53 international caps till date.

“It has been a dream for me to represent my country at the Olympics. I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time now and now that I am here, it feels surreal. When I got the news of my selection in the Olympics-bound team, I cried remembering of what I have been through and I missed my father. When I called home, I remember my mother crying, but those were happy tears. My family has sacrificed a lot and it is about time that I pay them back with a Gold Medal,” he signed off.