Yuvraj Walmiki Indian Hockey Player: Biography, Photos, Personal life and more!
Get to know more about Yuvraj Walmiki's life as we have got you the important features in his life history, This is Yuvraj Walmiki's Biography!
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Yuvraj Walmiki Indian Hockey Player: Biography, Photos, Personal life and more!
Yuvraj Walmiki is an Indian professional hockey player who
was born on the 29th of November 1989 and is 26 years old. He was
originally born in Uttar Pradesh but is from Mumbai, Maharashtra . He plays at the forward position and was
one of the major contributing factors to the success of the team. He began in
2003 with Bombay Republicans with coach Bawa. This young skilled and talented player
had a very promising start to his career and passion . His debit performance
was on national colors as a part of the Indian Hockey team for the Asians
Champions Trophy in China.
Journey to Hockey:
During the initial years of Yuvraj, he grew up in the slums
of Mumbai and faced a lot of difficulties while growing up . Despite this, he
did not give up and excelled tremendously in his game.
He started by playing for the Bombay Republicans from the
years 2003-2007 , the Bank of India in the years 2005-2007 and signed a
contract with Air Asia in 2007 and continued till 2012 with them. One of his
main turning points was playing for the Delhi Waveriders and he won a silver
medal in season 1, gold in season 2 and bronze in season 3 . His worth was soon
realized when he was bought by the HIL for 18,500 USD initially but now
continues to play for 40,000 USD.
Though he had a great start, things got rough as they proceeded
and it didn’t cone easy to him. In the year 2009,though he competed at the club
and regional level, he was faced with disappointment and did get discouraged to
an extent. Being the skillfull player that he is, he did not get selected for
the Junior World Cup but he was informed with much remorse that he did not have
international influence and hence wasn’t going to be included. He did not step
down but questioned them as to if they dont give him experience, he never will
gain it . Discouragement did take a toll on him as he stopped playing for 4
months. It was a tough phase for him but that didn’t stop him, he pushed
himself and moved on. It was a stepping stone for him as he then aspired on to
represent India in the South Asian Games in 2010 in Dhaka.
As his journey continued,he was a big part of the Champions
Challenge that took place in South Africa in 2011 where the Indian team stood
second beating South Africa in the semi finals. He was an active participant in
most of the upcoming events which included the Tri Series in Australia in 2011
where India got the silver medal, followed by the South African test series in
Delhi in 2012 as well as the Olympic Qualifiers in the same year where they won
gold both times. He was an active member of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2012 that
was held in Malaysia and the Champions Trophy that was held in the same year. He
also played in the Holland Test Series in Amsterdam in 2013 where the Indian
Team got the gold medal. His other big success was at the 2014 Rabo bank Hockey
World Cup in Holland.
His Struggle and strife through the controversies
All of his earlier victories were commendable but it wasn’t
a smooth journey for Yuvraj. He did face a few hardships and discouraging
moments. Despite Yuvraj climbing his way to the Hockey World League Semifinals
in Antwerp in 2015, two months post that, he was suddenly dismissed from the
Indian Team. To his surprise, he was not even included in the 26 member group
for the National Camp that took place on 5th September 2015. It was
an unfortunate event that led to a rough phase.
The coach at that time , Paul Van Ass was pleased by this
young man’s skill showcased at the Pune nationals and the series against Japan
in India. This didn’t last long as he suffered from an injury when he scored a
goal in the second match against Poland. Unexpectedly Van Ass was fired after
the event and was succeeded by Roelant Oltmans . The beginning of the
misfortune took place first when he was denied the involvement in the Euro tour
in Shilaroo in July without a reason. As per a source, Oltmans wanted to give a
chance to two youngsters Talwinder Singh and Mohammed Amir Khan and all that he
told Yuvraj was to improve. It was completely neglected that he had won the
best forward award in the Guru Tegh Bahadur Gold Cup, yet was overlooked for
the camp. Taken aback by this unfortunate series of events, Walmiki said, “ I’m
shocked . If someone picks me in the 18 in Belgium in the HWL Semi finals and a
month later I don’t get a place in the 26 ,it’s shocking . In a way,ill be
missing out on the 2016 Olympics because the squad will be the core for it.”
This has been a repeated past for Yuvraj, he missed out on
the 2012 London Olympics due to injuries but he came back for the Champions Trophy
in Melbourne before being overlooked the same month. He wasn’t included the
next year in the list if 48 probables for the Asian cup in 2013. Regardless of
this, his motivated spirit must be commended since he made it to the 2014 Hockey
World League Finals and he was one of the key players. Despite all this
effort,he wasn’t selected for the FIH World Cup except when he replaced the
injured Nithin Thimmaiah .
Inspite of these down hill events, this young forward did
not lose hope and continued to keep up his positive outlook. He wanted to prove
them wrong and show them that he’s good enough . He was determined and added
that he will wait till the 2016 Rio Olympics before deciding his career path. Though
the chances looked diminished, he didn’t give up. With shady chances of his
comeback, it was all in his favour that coach van Paul ass was reappointed in 2015
at the beginning of the year and Yuvraj was confirmed in the squad. It is now
his time to showcase his skill and leave a streak of his victory this 2016.
Other achievements
Apart from his main career, he was very active in a few
other external affairs . He was the first Indian Brand Ambassador for Australian
brand ritual and also for Do Good Sports (Ngo) in Mumbai. He was fortunate
enough to play in the German hockey League for 4 years and he got the title of
the highest goal scorer in this League from 2010-2011. Yuvraj was pronounced the
best player in the Mumbai Hockey League 2004-2007. The extra edge he had was
participating in season 7 of Khatron Ke Khiladi ,the reality show.
FAMILY LIFE
His family has been a big support to him and are extremely
proud of his success. Though they were from a humble background and couldn’t
afford much , they did all they could to support his efforts. They saw his
dedication and focus and encouraged him . Following his footsteps is his
younger brother,Devinder Walmiki, who played for the Indian Hockey team in 2010
in the Sultan Of Johor Cup in Malaysia and who is a budding talent.
