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{{short description|Indian field hockey player}}
{{Infobox field hockey player
| name = Gurjit Kaur
| image =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1995|10|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], [[India]]
| height = 1.67 m
| weight = 59 kg
| position = Defender
| currentclub = [[Railways Sports Promotion Board|Railways]]
| nationalyears1 = 2014–
| nationalteam1 = [[India women's national field hockey team|India]]
| nationalcaps1 = 72
| nationalgoals1 = 33
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Women's [[field hockey]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Field hockey at the Asian Games|Asian Games]]}}
{{MedalSilver|[[Field hockey at the 2018 Asian Games|2018 Jakarta]]|[[Field hockey at the 2018 Asian Games – Women|Team]]}}
|caption=Kaur (''far right'') lining up with [[India women's national field hockey team|India]] in 2017}}

'''Gurjit Kaur''' (born 25 October 1995) is an Indian female [[field hockey]] player.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://hockeyindia.org/team/gurjit-kaur.html |title=Gurjit Kaur |publisher=Hockey India |access-date=6 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126224632/http://hockeyindia.org/team/gurjit-kaur.html |archive-date=26 January 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/sports/report-india-at-cwg-2018-gurjit-kaur-scores-twice-as-india-defeat-malaysia-4-1-in-women-s-hockey-2601698 |title=India at CWG 2018: Gurjit Kaur scores twice as India defeat Malaysia 4–1 in women's hockey |work=Daily News & Analysis |date=6 April 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://results.gc2018.com/en/hockey/athlete-profile-n6006420-gurjit-kaur.htm |title=Gurjit Kaur |publisher=Gold Coast 2018 |access-date=6 April 2018}}</ref> She plays the position of a defender and is also the Indian team's designated [[drag flick]]er. She has represented India internationally, most recently at the [[Hockey World Cup]] 2018. She was the most successful goal-scorer of the Indian team during the series with 8 goals, in which the Indian team emerged victorious as the continental champions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gurjit-kaur/articleshow/62588301.cms |title=Gurjit Kaur – Times of India |work=The Times of India |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> She has played 53 international matches, {{as of|2018|July|lc=y}}.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hockeyindia.org/spain-tour-women|title=Hockey India {{!}} Spain Tour (Women)|website=hockeyindia.org|language=en-US|access-date=28 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719164806/http://hockeyindia.org/spain-tour-women|archive-date=19 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Early life==
Gurjit Kaur was born on 25 October 1995, in the Miadi Kalan village in [[Amritsar]], [[Punjab, India|Punjab]]. She was born into a farming family to parents Satnam Singh and Harjinder Kaur. She has one older sister, Pradeep Kaur. It was important to her parents to give her and her sister a quality education, so they elected to send their two daughters to a private school in Ajnala, over 13 km away, instead of the local government school in the village. Gurjit's father Satnam Singh would fit his daughters into his cycle and drive them to school, and wait all day until their school got over to ferry them back.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/sunday-special/kaleidoscope/trust-the-stick-she-carries/496271.html |title=Trust the stick she carries |last=Grewal |first=Inderjit |date=12 November 2017 |website=The Tribune |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref>

Since this was not a practical solution, her parents finally decided to send their two daughters to a boarding school over 70 km away in Kairon in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab in 2006.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/hockey/hard-work-will-pay-off-in-the-world-cup-says-star-drag-flicker-gurjit-kaur |title='Hard work will pay off in the World Cup,' says star drag-flicker Gurjit Kaur |date=15 June 2018 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref> Kairon happened to be one of the oldest and most famous women's hockey nurseries, and this is where the two sisters discovered their passion for the sport. Their excellence in hockey earned them a spot in the government wing of the school, granting them free education and meals, which came as a relief to the sisters' cash-strapped parents.<ref name=":2" />

Gurjit Kaur continued her education at Kairon until 2011, after which she moved to Jalandhar's Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women to continue her education and her training – which is where she got serious about drag-flicking. After this, she got placed in the [[Indian Railways]] as a junior clerk in [[Allahabad]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/jalandhar/city-s-chak-de-girls-aim-for-olympics-gold/418145.html |title=City's 'Chak De' girls aim for Olympics gold |date=6 June 2017 |website=The Tribune |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref>

==Career==
Gurjit Kaur got her first shot at playing for the country when she was called for the Senior National Camp in 2014. However, she could not secure a place on the team.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> It was only in 2017 that she became a permanent member of the [[India women's national field hockey team|Indian women's hockey team]]. Gurjit Kaur then played in the Test series in [[Canada]] in March 2017, the Hockey World League Round 2 in April 2017 and the Hockey World League semifinals in July 2017.

The Dutch head coach of India, [[Sjoerd Marijne]], encouraged her to change her stick to get better at drag flicking, which improved her game. ''"The stick I used earlier felt light and I didn’t get enough power. So, when we went to Holland, Marijne asked me to try drag-flicking with a different stick. It was much better and I felt more powerful. The change has helped me,”'' Gurjit said in an interview to The Tribune.<ref name=":2" /> Marijne also arranged for her to train with Dutch coach Toon Siepman, who helped her work on her basics like her posture and footwork during the drag-flicking process.

Gurjit Kaur's time in the spotlight came in the 2017 Asia Cup, in which the Indian team emerged as continental champions and consequently qualified for a spot at the [[Hockey World Cup]] in London in 2018. Gurjit Kaur ended the tournament as the third-highest goal scorer by netting eight goals, and was also the Indian team's top scorer. She converted seven penalty corners including a hat-trick against Kazakhstan in the quarter-final. In the semi-final she scored twice against defending champions Japan.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/field/856904/from-gurjit-kaur-to-savita-punia-four-players-who-impressed-during-indias-asia-cup-triumph |title=From Gurjit Kaur to Savita Punia: Four players who impressed during India's Asia Cup triumph |author=Scroll Staff |work=Scroll.in |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":1" />

Gurjit Kaur also made an impressive performance at the [[2018 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games 2018]], held in [[Australia]]. Although India did not secure a podium finish, coming in at fourth place, Gurjit Kaur caught attention for her two penalty corner conversion goals against Malaysia in its second pool A match during the tournament, helping India score a 4–1 win.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.firstpost.com/laureus/article/commonwealth-games-2018-gurjit-kaur-strikes-twice-as-india-womens-team-thrash-malaysia-4420667.html |title=Commonwealth Games 2018: Gurjit Kaur strikes twice as India women's team thrash Malaysia – Laureus World Sports Awards 2017 |access-date=28 July 2018}}</ref>

In the lead-up to the Hockey World Cup 2018, the Indian team played a series of five matches against the Spanish national team dubbed the Spain Tour, which they won 4–1. In the final match, Gurjit Kaur scored two goals alongside skipper [[Rani Rampal]] who also scored two goals, bringing the final score to 4–1.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/hockey/rani-rampal-gurjit-kaur-lead-india-to-series-levelling-win-over-spain-5223769/ |title=Rani Rampal, Gurjit Kaur lead India to series-levelling win over Spain |date=19 June 2018 |work=The Indian Express |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/field/883199/hockey-rani-rampal-and-gurjit-kaur-help-india-end-spanish-tour-with-a-4-1-victory |title=Hockey: Rani Rampal and Gurjit Kaur help India end Spanish tour with a 4–1 victory |author=Scroll Staff |work=Scroll.in |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Gurjit Kaur is also a part of the Hockey World Cup squad as India's defender and drag flicker.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://scroll.in/field/884609/rani-rampal-to-lead-indian-team-in-womens-hockey-world-cup |title=Rani Rampal to lead Indian team in women's hockey World Cup |author=Scroll Staff |work=Scroll.in |access-date=28 July 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Gurjit Kaur also made another impressive performance by scoring the only goal against Australia in [[2020 Summer Olympics]]. This helped India reach semi-finals in Olympic women's hockey for first time ever.<ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/brave-indian-women-create-history-enter-olympic-hockey-semifinals-for-first-time/article35674584.ece |title=Brave Indian women create history, enter Olympic hockey semifinals for first time}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{India FHW Squad 2018 World Cup}}
{{India FHW Squad 2020 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaur, Gurjit}}
[[Category:1995 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian female field hockey players]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian women]]
[[Category:21st-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Female field hockey defenders]]
[[Category:Field hockey players from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Field hockey players at the 2020 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Olympic field hockey players of India]]
[[Category:Field hockey players at the 2018 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Asian Games silver medalists for India]]
[[Category:Asian Games medalists in field hockey]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games]]
[[Category:Field hockey players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games]]
[[Category:Commonwealth Games competitors for India]]

Gurjit Kaur - Revision history

imported>TaDrian58 at 11:06, 13 August 2021