Michaela Meade
Whittlesea Hockey Club is back in force and excited to be playing the game it loves.
Goalkeeper Vikramdeep Singh said the 2021 season has been a mixed bag of emotions.
“The season’s been pretty good, but pretty challenging, after the [COVID-19] lockdown and not playing for a year or so,” he said.
“Being out of action from the sport we love, and then getting back to it has been quite challenging.
“It has been an exciting season on the other hand.
“We’re performing well so far.”
The club is playing in its first official season since being established in 2019, with Singh reporting a strong performance by both junior and senior players.
“We’re pretty much on the top of the list for metro B,” he said.
“We’re in the top five for metro C as well, so strong all around.”
The club has won five consecutive matches in the metro B competition, winning 7-0 against RMIT Hockey Club last month.
The club had a bye in the latest round.
Singh said there were two standout players in the senior team, who both represent at a state level.
“Tarwinder Kullar plays for Masters 45+ [and] Sarbjit Sandhu plays for Masters 50+,” he said.
“They both represent Victoria, and are great players for our team.”
Singh said a junior player, Harbir Singh, was also performing well, playing in the state under 18 championship.
Singh said the crowd support at games, COVID-19 restrictions permitting, has been strong.
“The energy’s been good,” he said.
“We’re getting people from different places supporting us and getting involved in hockey.
“We’ve even had some people who haven’t had anything to do with hockey before coming and joining the club at games.”
Whittlesea drew against Melbourne University, 2-2, in the Hockey Victoria metro C competition, and won against Hume, 2-0, in the metro B competition over the weekend.
