KURUKSHETRA: India men’s hockey team Olympian Surender Kumar Palad was given a hero's welcome by the Kurukshetra resident on his arrival at home on Wednesday.
Surender reached Kurukshetra in the evening and a large cavalcade of vehicles lead by Thanesar MLA Subhash Sudha carried out a roadshow for him starting from Umri Chowk which reached Dronacharya Stadium via Sector 2, 3, Pipli Chowk, Sector 5, 7, and Gulzari Nanda Marg. The residents of Kurukshetra welcomed Surender while showering flower petals and garlands.
On his arrival at Dronacharya Stadium, Surender was welcomed with a huge garland of flowers by MLA Sudha, Kurukshetra deputy commissioner (DC) Mukul Kumar, superintendent of police (SP) Himanshu Garg, and other senior officials of the district including sports officer Balbir Singh.
Before arriving at his home, Surender first went to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) institution in Kurukshetra to take blessings from his coach Gurvinder Singh and show him the medal that he won in the Olympics. Coach Gurvinder Singh hugged and kissed Surender on his forehead and gave him blessings to come home again after winning the gold medal in Paris 2024 Olympics.
Gurvinder Singh said, "We feel proud that the player of our institution has brought pride to the nation. The government should honour Surender Kumar with the Arjuna Award."
While thanking the officials for his welcome Surender said, "My bronze medal is dedicated to the country. We hoped to win a gold medal but won the bronze. I have reached this level by learning the skills of hockey from my coach Gurvinder Singh. My parents Malkhan Singh and Neelam Devi have also contributed largely to my achievement."
"After touching the soil of Dronacharya Stadium about 17 years ago, I made a resolution that one day by working hard on this soil (kutcha ground), I will definitely bring a medal for the country. With the hard work of 17 years, and the blessings of the coach Gurvinder Singh, we won the medal for the country", said Surender.
"I am feeling very good after receiving such a warm welcome for the first time. It is a fact that we won the medal after 41 years and I am happy about the same. I dream of changing the medal's colour from bronze to gold in the 2024 Olympic games to brighten the name of the country", said Surender.
Speaking on the welcoming ceremony of Surender, Thanesar MLA Subhash Sudha said, "I will send a proposal to the government to utilise the empty space at Dronacharya Stadium to establish astro turf ground for Surender Palad and in his name and to construct golden jubilee stadium in 20 acres at Palwal village (in Kurukshetra). I will present this proposal before Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and sports and youth affairs minister Sandeep Singh."
Surender's father Malkhan Singh said, "We are proud parents and our son will work hard to bring gold in the upcoming Olympics. We have struggled hard to bring him to this level and we are happy to receive warm gestures from different walks of life."
Kurukshetra DC Mukul Kumar said, "The young generation will take inspiration from Surender Kumar and he has worked hard to maintain his position in the Indian hockey team.
