Death knocked at his door and it had seemed then that the whole world had crashed around him. He was shattered for a while. But then he knew he had to come out of this trauma and live to take care of his family, who were totally dependent on him. 

Sukhbir Singh Gill--a synergy of mental and physical strength-- not only survived death but fought the disease hard to play competitive hockey once again.

Life could not have been more cruel for this player who has seen and suffered obstacles throughout his life. The 32-year-old carved his own life. From losing his father at a young age to being dropped from the India under-18 camp (which could mark a beginning of his career), this man has fought all odds. And the news that he had brain tumour was quite a shock.

"When I discovered that I had brain tumour, I was shattered. But then I had to live—for my mother, my wife, my daughter and of course my love and passion hockey. It all made me fight death. And see the result. I am back on the field, playing the game I love," said Gill.

Explaining how he discovered the disease, Sukhbir said, "I was sleeping at night. All of a sudden I had problems breathing. My family took me to the hospital immediately. And then the series of CT scans and MRI scans followed. Finally, I was told that I had brain tumor. It was detected on December 10, 2006 and operated on December 19. It has been four years now," he added.

"I was operated at Silver Oak Hospital (Mohali). The doctors were skeptical of the operation. But one of them standing near me said something which nearly did the trick. 'arre yeh to khiladi hai. Nothing will happen to him. And then I was finally operated. By God's grace everything went normal. Now my example is given to people who come with brain tumour in that hospital," informed Sukhbir, who went on to play for Chandigarh Dynamos a year after his death-threatening operation.

Determined as he is, Gill started playing hockey just after three months of operation. "I can't explain how tough that period was for me. A player sitting out and not playing is disgusting. Last year, I could not play in the PHL in 2007. Despite recuperating, I still went and saw the matches. And it did help me a lot. Seeing my friends playing gave me a lot of energy," he said.

But then this was just the latest of the woes affecting the gritty midfielder. The only son of his parents, with a hope to carve a niche for himself in the world of hockey, Gill had to undergo physical as well as mental tortures throughout his life to reach his goal. "It wasn't easy for me to establish myself in hockey. I have worked really hard for it," he informed.

The tales of his hard-fought success surely arouses goose-bumps. After being selected for the India under-18 camp in preparation for the Youth Asia Cup in Pakistan, he got to know about the job trials for BPCL, which was to be held in Delhi. "I sought permission from my coach and was allowed to go on a day's leave. But when I went there, the coach of BPCL asked me to play for them the next day also. And I had to extend my visit by one more day. When I came back for the u-18 camp, I thrown out on disciplinary grounds," said Gill.

But fortune had better plans in store for the hard working man. During his routine practice at Sector 42 Stadium, V Bhaskaran—who was in-charge of the India under-21 camp under progress at the stadium –called him and asked him to practice with the campers on regular basis. "Rest fell in place as I was selected in the team and went on to play for India in the Four-nation tournament held in Belgium. And the irony was that the u-18 team could not get the visas and had to stay back," said Gill.

Gill regards Year 2000 as the highlight of his career. "I got the chance to make people recognize me by name when I played in the Sydney Olympics in 2000," reminisces Sukhbir.

So what his schedule and plans these days? “I still play for Chandigarh and Bharat Petroleum in the nationals and other competitions. Hockey is my life and I think its time for me to give back to the game which has given me so much. Therefore, I am involved whole-heartedly with the Shivalik Public School Hockey Academy. It has been a couple of years now and our team is growing in stature with each day. And since, I am a product of the same school, it gives me immense pleasure passing on my skills to the coming generation,” said the fighter.

Indian Sports News