Former India player's brother cycles from Punjab to Odisha for Hockey World Cup

Sports often have stories of fans going beyond limits to express their love for sports. One such instance is coming up from the ongoing Hockey World Cup in India.

A former hockey player and fan of the Indian team, Karamveer Singh has cycled from all the way to Punjab to Odisha in a bid to extend his support to the Indian hockey team.

Talking about his 1,700 km journey from Punjab to Rourkela, Karamveer said in an interview with Kalinga TV, "I am from village Khairabad, Punjab. International player Dharamvir Singh is my brother and Gagandeep Singh is from my village. I have also played hockey before myself."

"It took me 10 days to reach Rourkela. I am happy that I have reached here. My target was to reach Odisha and support the Indian team. I come from a village where every kid plays hockey," he added further.

The journey of Karamveer has created a buzz in among the hockey community and it has helped him also.

"I met so many good people on the road. Sikh families here in Odisha also helped me. I had no tickets but people have helped me to get the tickets," Karamveer said.

Being a hockey player himself, Karamveer gave his insights on what he is expecting from the Indian team. He said, "I am expecting India to finish on the podium. We have a good team and I am excited to see how they play."

"India will play fast-paced hockey and they play as a team. They all belong to the same batch and the chemistry between them is brilliant. I am very hopeful for my team," he added further.

India defeated Spain 2-0 in the opening game which Karamveer attended. 20,000 people were supporting the home team and kept it noisy till the end.

Talking about the crowd in Rourkela, Karamveer said happily, "I have never seen such a crowd. I have attended many games but have never seen so many people. I am so happy to see people turning up in numbers to support the Indian Team."