A Journey from Darkness to Light – Yuvraj Walmiki:

For Indian hockey player Yuvraj Walmiki (IG: @yuvrajhockey_9), the struggle to become one of the best has been much too real. Having started his journey in a 10×10 sq. ft. shanty in marine drive, life threw everything it had in Yuvraj’s way; but the gold-medallist now describes himself as having emerged shining.

Contrary to popular belief, Yuvraj never imagined himself to be a national level sportsperson. He recalls when he was 10 years old, how his friend showed up to school one day, proudly showing off his photograph in the daily newspaper. It was for a hockey match. As the entire class goes crazy over this small passport sized photograph, Yuvraj realises that he wants his photo in the paper as well. He tells his friend ‘I want to play hockey too.’

What started out as a fun way to escape the boring history class in school, soon turned into an intense passion for the sport. Yuvraj spent every afternoon on the mud ground at the Mumbai Hockey Association. After cleaning up the surface, he would practice on his own for an hour, before the senior players arrived for their practice. “Only the Maalis (Gardeners) have seen my hard work.They would try and shoo me away, telling me I’d end up getting a sunstroke because of how much I’d play!”

Yuvraj goes on to say, “It may sound filmy, but I wanted to break the barrier of being poor.” Yuvraj recollects his parents working very hard to educate all 4 sons in an English-medium school. His father, a private driver, would work all day to make ends meet. In a house with no electricity, his mother would buy and light a 2-rupee candle everyday, for Yuvraj and his brothers to study in the candlelight. Due to the lack of space home, Yuvraj spent his nights sleeping outside, using a tadpatri (Tarpaulin) to protect himself from the rain.

The year 2011 was the turning point in Yuvraj’s story. After being selected in the Indian team for the Asian Champions Trophy, he scored a crucial goal that won India the finals match against Pakistan. He returns back to Mumbai and on his arrival, he is greeted in the VIP lounge by the well-known politician Mr. Uddhav Thackeray, then Mayor of Mumbai Mrs. Shraddha Jadhav, and famous hockey players Mr. Dhanraj Pillay and Mr. Mir Ranjan Negi. Outside the airport, a crowd of over 1000 people gathered for Yuvraj’s arrival, which brought tears to his eyes.

When asked by powerful politician Bal Thackerey what he wanted, Yuvraj simply responded with ‘I just want electricity in my home.’ Yuvraj recalls how within the span of 45 minutes, his house was lit up with electricity.

“I find it sad that people in India celebrate National Sports Day, yet don’t know about Major Dhyan Chand, on whose birthday it is celebrated.” According to Yuvraj, Sports must be made compulsory in school as sports is a vital part of life, sports teaches you discipline, it teaches you to bounce back, and helps you to lead a healthy life.When talking about why hockey – being India’s national sport – is not as popular as cricket, Walmiki says that the recognition of the sport is getting better, but there’s always room for improvement. Suggesting ways to help, He urges Bollywood stars to make appearances at hockey events; and urges the government to help athletes financially as they prepare to participate in matches. “I want that if hockey players go out to the supermarket, people should recognise them, like how they do cricket players. And that will only happen when we start getting medals at the Olympics.”

After the pandemic, along with holding hockey camps for children, Yuvraj has plans to start his own sports academy for young athletes in Mumbai, “It’s going to be huge.” He also currently manages an academy in Nashik that trains over 140 children.

Yuvraj Walmiki strives to work harder daily, and to never stop learning and exploring. He hopes to be an inspiration to the next generation. According to him, this is just the beginning and the best is yet to come.