Five men from Punjab will be on the hockey turfs of Belgium, playing the World Masters Hockey World Cup next month. Hardeep Singh Shahi, Kamaljit Shahi and Rupinder Singh Gill from Samrala, and Avtar Singh and Narinder Singh from Jalandhar have been picked up by the Alliance International Hockey Club for the 55+ category. The players are getting match-ready for the Master’s World Cup and were focussed on their preparation ahead of their departure.Hardeep, who is 55, treats patients at his Samrala clinic from 9 am onwards. But he must be up by 5 am since the hockey ground awaits him. A winner of several medals at school and college levels, Shahi now balances his homeopathy practice and the game. He won a gold medal at the Pan Pacific Masters Games in Gold Coast in 2022 and again in 2024 in the 50+ group.Last year, he played in the European Championship in England. Now, he has got a chance to play the World Cup. He splits his training between Samrala and Chandigarh. “Medicine may keep others fit, but for me it’s my hockey which has kept me active, lively and healthy for years. I maintain a disciplined routine,” shared the ‘young-at-heart’ veteran.Kamaljit Shahi, who is now 58, has retired from teaching, but not from the field. A train accident years ago left him with an injured leg. “For months, he was bedridden, but one fine day he left for the ground first to watch, then to walk with help of a stick, and eventually to run again. He struggled and achieved gold at the Pan Pacific Masters Games in Gold Coast in 2022 and bronze in 2024 in the 50+ category. In the European Championship in England in 2025, he was simply outstanding.Rupinder Singh Gill, who is 56, has a cupboard full of national-level medals in the 40+ athletics category. Then one morning his knee gave way on the track. But this Samrala businessman instead picked up a hockey stick. It was extremely painful at first, but he didn’t care. By dint of his perseverance and grit, he played the Hockey India Masters Cup in Chennai in 2025. Such is the resolve that he travels with ice packs and knee braces.Avtar Singh is 56 years old. He belongs to Jalandhar and represented Punjab in the 40+ national championship in Chennai earlier this year. He is known for his calm approach on the field. Avtar believes playing in Europe will be a learning experience. “If we can bring the discipline of Europe here in Punjab, we can do wonders,” he says. For him, the World Cup is not just about playing, but also about understanding how Masters Hockey is managed abroad.Narinder Singh from Jalandhar, who is 57 years old, has also represented Punjab in the 40+ nationals in Chennai earlier this year. He is known for his energy on the field and constant movement. “People think Masters Hockey is slow, but if you play against us, you’ll see the pace,” he says. For Narinder, the World Cup is a chance to show that players above 50 can still play serious hockey. He also wants more people of his age to return to the game.These players run the Masters Hockey Welfare Society, Samrala. The society has been working to bring former players back to the field and has organised the Samrala Hockey League twice for this purpose. The society’s aim, according to Shahi, is: “The stick should not be kept in the cupboard.”wuw