"Never expected to be bought for $84,000," says India's hockey forward Akashdeep Singh
On a day when many top names failed to attract the ‘big spending ways’ of franchises at the Hero Hockey India League Players’ Auction in New Delhi, talented young forward Akashdeep Singh rose from nowhere to emerge as the most expensive Indian player at the auction, attracting a buying price of an impressive $84,000 from Uttar Pradesh Wizards for the 2016 editon.
The 20-year-old marched ahead of many established names like skipper Sardar Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Dharmvir Singh and Sandeep Singh as he was snapped up for a handsome price.
Arguably one of the most talented forwards around, the ‘most expensive Indian tag’ was very on unexpected lines for him.
“I knew the bid will go up for this auction, but to be honest, I did not really expect to get a such higher bidding from the franchises before UP Wizards finally bought him,” Akashdeep said on the sidelines of the ongoing national camp in New Delhi.
Akashdeep, who is employed with ONGC, is now looking forward to playing alongside some of his Indian team-mates in the UP Wizards side.
“(P R) Sreejesh and (V R) Raghunath are established players in the UP Wizards side. Really looking forward to playing with them in the 2016 HIL. We also have two strong foreign players in the UP side – Jamie Dwyer and Tobias Hauke – playing with them will help improve my game,” he added.
Akashdeep has fond memories of playing for Delhi Waveriders for three years.
“It was a great experience playing for the Delhi Waveriders for the last three years. I have learnt a lot playing with the likes of world-class players like Sardar Singh, Nicolas Jacobi, Oscar Deecke, Andy Hayward, Simon Child, Rupinder Pal Singh among others,” he revealed.
The striker, however, believes doing well for the national team is equally important. “The Hockey World League Final Round is coming up in November-December in Raipur followed by the Olympics next years. I want to perform well for my new franchise and at the same time continue doing well for the national team on the international stage,” he signed off.