16 September, 2026 – Ludhiana : Ludhiana’s veteran swimmers made their presence felt at the 22nd National Masters Swimming Championship, with the city’s women contingent returning with three gold and two silver medals from the three-day championship held at the Champions Aquatic Academy, Bahadurgarh, Haryana, from September 11 to 13.
The standout performer was Abhipsha Thakur, who made a remarkable return to competitive swimming after a prolonged break. Having travelled from Singapore especially for the championship, Thakur clinched three gold and one silver medal in the 45-49 age category. She topped the podium in the 50m butterfly, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley, besides securing silver in the 400m freestyle.
The other silver medal for Ludhiana was won by veteran swimmer Meera Sood in the 60-64 age group. Sood made a competitive comeback after a gap of more than three decades, adding further luster to the city’s performance.
The championship, organised for men and women master swimmers, witnessed participation of more than 1,300 swimmers from across the country. The competition featured age groups in five-year brackets from 25 years onwards, extending to the 80-plus category.
According to the Punjab Swimming Association (PSA), the Punjab contingent comprised 24 men and seven women swimmers, representing Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Pathankot, Mohali and Punjab Police. Overall, Punjab swimmers won five gold, six silver and 11 bronze medals.
The National Masters Championship also carried added significance as it served as a qualifying event for selection to the Indian Masters teams for the 2nd Asian Masters Championship, scheduled to be held in Bengaluru from October 4 to 10.
Balraj Sharma, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), PSA and president, Surjit Singh Sandhu said the liberalised qualifying system introduced by the Swimming Federation of India for the Asian Masters event was expected to provide more Indian master swimmers an opportunity to qualify for the continental championship.
From One-Room House to Asia Cup Glory, Punjab’s Sukhveer Kaur Turns Struggles Into Success
Jallandhar : Twenty-year-old Sukhveer Kaur from Bhai Rupa village in Bathinda is the lone Punjab player in the Indian junior women’s hockey team that won the AHF Junior Asia Cup 2026.
But behind this achievement, there is a daughter who understood her family’s struggles early, chose sport despite the odds and turned her hockey dream into a source of hope for those at home.
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There was a time in Sukhveer’s life when her family of six lived and slept in a one-room house. Today, they have a three-room house built with the combined efforts of her mother’s tailoring and the money Sukhveer began sending home after earning a scholarship.
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Her father, Chamkaur Singh, owns less than an acre of land and supplements the family’s income by working as a farm labourer. Her mother, Kulwinder Kaur, is a tailor. With four children to raise, sending Sukhveer outside the village to pursue sport was not an easy decision for the family. There were voices questioning their choice.
“People would say all sorts of things to us because we were sending a girl to play outside. But I knew that I didn’t want my daughter to sit at home and ruin her life. I wanted her to make something of herself and become independent,” Kulwinder said.
As she spoke about her daughter, Kulwinder broke down several times. Sukhveer, she said, understood the family’s struggles from a very young age and quietly took responsibility for helping them.
“At a very early age, she took responsibility because she knew how we were suffering,” Kulwinder said.
When Sukhveer began receiving a scholarship while she was in the camp for hockey, she did not use the money on herself. Instead, she started sending it home so that her younger siblings could continue their education. “She didn’t spend a single penny on herself. She started sending the money to me so that her younger siblings could study. Saade din badal gaye ohde naal (our days changed because of her),” Kulwinder said.
Sukhveer has two sisters and a brother. Her younger sister is also into sports, while the youngest siblings are just 10 and 11 years old.
Sukhveer’s sporting journey began when she was just eight. No one in her family had a sporting background, but she found her way to the school athletics ground, where she would play every day.
Her life changed when Rajwant Singh, a hockey coach at the PIS Centre in Bathinda, came to conduct trials.
She was selected. “What began as an opportunity soon became a passion, and hockey became an inseparable part of my life,’ Sukhveer said.
She remains deeply grateful to Rajwant, who stood by her through some of the most difficult phases of her journey. Rajwant, who selected Sukhveer when she was eight because of her exceptional speed, said her greatest strength has always been her dedication.
“When I would tell the team something or teach them a skill, Sukhveer would repeat it almost 50 times. That is the kind of student she is. I am amazed by her dedication,” he said.
The coach also helped her financially whenever he could. More importantly, he tried to ensure that the young player did not remain consumed by the problems at home. “Whenever she was tense because of the family situation, I would keep her mind occupied,” Rajwant said.
Sukhveer shared that there was a time when the entire family lived in just one room. “We all used to sleep in one room,” the player recalled.
But as she progressed in hockey and began earning a scholarship, she started sending money to her mother. Her mother’s tailoring work and Sukhveer’s earnings together helped the family build two more rooms.
For Sukhveer, who once shared a single room with her entire family, helping build a home is as important as winning. Now, I want to work hard and help India perform well at the Junior World Cup.
The Tribune