AHEAD HIL: Jaypee Punjab Warriors visit Golden Temple to seek blessings

January 10, 2013: The Jaypee Punjab Warriors team, today, visited the Golden Temple in Amritsar to seek blessings at the Sri Harmandir Sahib before the commencement of the Hero Hockey India League.

The Jaypee Punjab Warriors have been in Jalandhar since the 6th of January, practicing and bonding with each other under the guidance of Team Head Coach Barry Dancer, along with former Indian captains Jagbir Singh and Mohammed Riaz. 

Talking about the team’s visit to the temple, Barry Dancer, Team Head coach said, “The team has bonded very well, and after our practice sessions, we wanted to visit the holy shrine and seek blessings of Harmandir Sahib before we embark on our mission to win the trophy. The team spent time at the temple and now we are off for the opening ceremony and our first game against New Delhi.”

Jaypee Punjab Warriors captain Jamie Dwyer too looked excited on his visit to the Golden Temple and said : “It is a great occasion for us to visit the Golden Temple. I’ve always liked the Indian Culture and felt connected to it. We wanted to visit the Holy Shrine before our matches and seek blessings of the Guru, so that we can do well in the tournament.”

Local player and budding talent, Gaganpreet Singh, while speaking to the media about his visit to the temple said, "Before every important game, I always visit the Golden temple to seek Guru’s blessing. I always feel very calm whenever I come here and it also helps me play without pressure as I always have the blessing of the Guru. I hope through this visit, the Guru blesses me as well as the entire team to do well and do Punjab proud in the HIL.”

The Hockey India League, a first of its kind tournament for Hockey in the country, will be held between January 14 - February 10.