Mysuru: Somwarpet Vittalacharya Sunil or S.V. Sunil is an Indian professional Hockey player who is known for his fast dribbling and pace abilities. His journey since his debut in the 2007 Asia Cup has been full of ups and downs. Here, S.V. Sunil opens up in an exclusive interview with Star of Mysore.

S.V Sunil, Ekalavya Awardee, feels that representing India has been the greatest honour of his life. He turned nostalgic on being asked about his last-minute goal in the memorable Azlan Shah Cup held in 2004. He said, “That moment is always going to have a special corner in my heart. It is always a wonderful moment to win the match for India, and scoring the decisive goal in the dying minutes of the match especially against Pakistan is an icing on the cake.”

Sunil, the Asian Player of the year 2017, recalls the toughest phase of his career, when he was sidelined due to a knee injury for about one-and-a-half years. He adds that making a comeback into the National team was not easy. He credited his well wishers for their prayers and supporting him during his gruelling days. Being the fastest man in the team, he is often regarded as Gareth Bale of Football (Gareth Bale is a Wales International Footballer, who plays for Real Madrid and is known for his swift pace on the field).  The halfback (player) adds that he has worked very hard on his pace, and wanted to be called as Usain Bolt ( world’s Fastest man), instead of Gareth Bale.

On India winning the recently conducted Asia Cup in Bangladesh, Sunil is delighted as India had won the tournament after a gap of 10 years and he hopes the victory will motivate the future of Indian Hockey.  He advised youngsters that dedication, hard work, being humble is a must, irrespective of the sport which they play. He also adds that respect for elders will help you move in the right direction in life.

S.V. Sunil was in city this morning to inaugurate ‘Heritage Sports’ Shop at Saraswathipuram. Sunil will be later heading to Bangalore camp to join the Indian hockey team as a part of the preparations for the Hockey World League Finals.