'The two kids had no roof': Hockey star Hardik Singh adopts family displaced in Punjab floods

Hockey star Hardik Singh adopts family displaced in Punjab floods

Hardik Singh realised that the reality he witnessed was far more heartbreaking than what he had seen in the media when he drove almost 100 kilometers from his home in Jalandhar, Punjab to a village on the banks of the Ravi river. One of the heroes of the successful Asia Cup campaign, the vice-captain of the Indian hockey team, braved the intense Rajgir heat all week long with a smile on his face.

Upon returning to his home state,  Hardik was welcomed with a rather grim picture and decided to donate all of his tournament earnings on Wednesday, which totaled lakhs of rupees, to the flood victims in efforts to reconstruct their life.

In the border town of Ajnala, a town in the Amritsar district, the 26-year-old also adopted a family of four. According to Hardik, he will purchase furniture, fans, and even a television to assist Gurshan Singh, his mother, and their two kids in rebuilding their home, which was devastated by the floods. When he initially visited the family, they were residing in a tent 60 meters away from the location of their former home.

Hockey star Hardik Singh adopts a house during Punjab floods. He will build the house of this affected family. Just a day after winning the Hero Asia Cup 2025, our star reaches Punjab to… pic.twitter.com/jmEJU09J2P

— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) September 11, 2025

“The two little kids had no roof over their heads,” Hardik told The Indian Express. “When I reached their home, Gurshan had gone somewhere else for seva (service). If something like this had happened to me, I would be at home and moan ‘Why did this happen to me!’ But it was so inspiring to see that even though his own house was destroyed, Gurshan was going out of his way to help others.”

Champion on the field, champion off it.

Indian hockey team's vice captain Hardik Singh adopts a damaged house in Ajnala and commits to rebuild it.

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@initiatorsofchange_ pic.twitter.com/vp63iBboYO

— Jaspreet Singh (@JaspritSingh09) September 10, 2025

As they pursued the Asia Cup championship, Hardik and his other teammates had isolated themselves from the outside world for over two weeks. The significance of the tournament increased when it doubled as a qualifying tournament for the 2026 World Cup. One of India's most impressive players was Hardik, who scored a stunning goal on his own against Malaysia in a virtual quarterfinal before playing a key part in the 4-1 victory against South Korea to win the continental championship.

While the team was focused on their task, relentless rains were causing devastation in Punjab, the home state of more than half the squad. Over 50 lives have already been lost, and nearly 1,900 villages have been severely impacted by the disaster.

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Hardik claimed that he kept a close eye on the situation in his home state by watching footage on social media while he played cheerfully in the blazing Rajgir sun. The midfielder made the decision to drive across the state to assist individuals in need after arriving at his house. “For kilometres at a stretch, people are sleeping in tents on the road. Access to basic human needs, including food and water, is limited,” Hardik said.

An NGO named Initiators of Change introduced him to Gurshan and his family. “Through them, I met this family who had nothing left. For the last 10 days, they’ve been sleeping in a tent 60m away from their home. Someone gives them food one day, and a few others help them with other basic amenities. They don’t have any source of income or any other resources to rebuild their lives. I couldn’t imagine what they were going through,” Hardik said.

Hardik also recounted an episode with his mother while he was engaged in the tournament, and compared how his situation was nothing in front of the flood victims. “Four days ago, on the morning of our match, I received a message from my mother. It was a short video of water-logging at my home, due to an issue with the pipeline. It was nothing, and still, I panicked so much. And then, to think that thousands of people have lost their homes and sources of livelihood because of the floods…”

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In 2022, Hockey India announced a bonus of Rs 50,000 for each player who won a match, despite the fact that Indian hockey players do not receive match fees for representing their nation. The government also gave the players monetary prizes for winning the Asia Cup.

Hardik stated that Gurshan and his family would benefit from the prize money he will receive. “I would have spent that money on buying a watch or something like that. But if I can make a small difference to someone’s life, it’ll be more satisfying. It’s basic humanity, nothing else.”