Indian National Hockey Team | A defender by trait, Varun Kumar

Childhood and Step Up into Hockey:

Like most of the current hockey players, Varun Kumar also started his life amidst poverty and tragedy. He took birth in the house of an Autorickshaw driver in the Mithapur Village of Punjab on 25th July 1995. Varun grew alongside current Indian Captain Manpreet Singh and got enrolled in Surjit Hockey Academy to polish his hockey skills. He was passionate about Hockey and used to save the little he could from his pocket money. Even then he often suffered due to inadequate hockey accessories.

In 2012, he made it to the state squad in the middle of cut-throat competition aged just 17. He got noticed during the state championship all thanks to his sturdy display in defense. He was selected for the Junior Men’s Hockey World Cup in 2013 along with fellow compatriot Manpreet Singh but his luck betrayed him. He missed the World Cup due to an injury.

During the Initial phase of his career, Injuries caused a big Hurdle in his way. In 2014, when he broke into the Junior team again owing to an injury he missed the World Cup. Though, his balanced play again made him eligible to be selected for Indian Junior Team in 2014. After 2014, it took him almost 2 years to really leave a mark. Owing, to his consistent performance in Asia Cup in 2015, he was soon the first choice full-back of the team.

In 2016, he was selected for the Indian team which went onto win the Junior World Cup. He was also signed by the Punjab Warriors in the franchise-based league in 2014 when he was 18 years old.

Debut

Varun gave an amazing performance in the 2016 Junior World Cup which helped India to grab their 2nd ever title. The following year saw his promotion in the senior team where he made his debut in a 1-0 defeat against Belgium, on August 9.

In 2016, he also won the Hockey India League with Punjab Warriors where he was retained for 3 straight seasons