NEW DELHI: Majlis Park in northwest Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar, a fairly well-to-do locality, has a new address: single-mindedness. It also has a new name and face: Manjot Kalra.
Manjot blew away the Australians with an unbeaten 101, helping India lift its fourth U-19 World Cup title. Like Virat Kohli before him, Manjot is a Punjabi lad from Delhi. Adarsh Nagar will now forever be indexed to his name.
“Parents should not stop their kids from playing any sport. I never stopped him. He used to miss tuition classes. He was more interested in cricket than in studies but today his efforts and sacrifices turned into God's blessings,” a beaming Ranjit Kaur, Manjot’s mother, told Express.
The neighbours were congregating in a shamiyana that was put up in front of their three-storeyed house. Ranjit, unused to jostling of television crews, was tired but was grinning from ear to ear. Manjot’s father, Navin Kumar, who is recovering from a surgery, barely stepped out.
“You will take restfully. I will do my job,” Manjot had told him before leaving for New Zealand, recalls his mother. Navin is a wholesale dealer of fruit. The family’s isn’t exactly a rags-to-riches story. But it is the focus that it instilled in Manjot that his friend, Rahul Bagga, recalls. “He was always with a cricket bat in his hands.”
Coach Suresh Kumar Batra who took Manjot under his wing 11 years ago says his strength is his ‘hand and eye coordination. “In the final, Manjot played very well. His hand and eye coordination is his strength and that makes him an extraordinary player. He made silly mistakes in last his two games. But he overcame those and settled down well in the final,” said Suresh.
Adarsh Nagar’s Majlis Park has planned a grand welcome for their son’s return. The neighbours have planned to light up the colony for three days.
“Neighbours here are like one family. We are very happy that Manjot, who used to play with us, has made this small colony famous. We have decided to install lights in all houses to welcome him once he is back from New Zealand,” Rahul said.