A Soldier's Football Story
In October 2021 the Indian Army lost 5 soldiers in the Poonch Sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Three of the soldiers were from Punjab. Newsclick met their families and found that apart from the military, all three also had sport in common. Subedar Jaswinder Singh was an accomplished rally driver. Sipahi Gajjan Singh, a talented volleyball and kabaddi player. Naik Mandeep Singh of Chatha village in Gurdaspur district grew up next to the local football ground. The army was his profession but those who knew him best told us that for Mandeep, football was the enduring passion. The family hopes that the Chatha village football ground, which Mandeep and his comrades worked hard to maintain, will be developed into a stadium so future generations also have a chance to grow to love the sport the same way.
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