# Sher-e-Punjab (field hockey team)

Sher-e-Punjab (abbreviated as SP) (Punjabi: ਸ਼ੇਰ-ਏ-ਪੰਜਾਬ) was an Indian professional field hockey team named after Sher-e-Punjab and based in Jalandhar, Punjab that played in World Series Hockey. The team was led by Indian forward Prabhjot Singh and coached by former Indian coach Rajinder Singh. Surjeet Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar served as the home ground of Sher-e-Punjab.
Sher-e-Punjab became the champions of the inaugural edition of WSH by defeating Pune Strykers 5–2 in the final. Deepak Thakur has scored most goals for the team.

## History
### 2012 season

Sher-e-Punjab begun their campaign with a 5–2 victory over Chennai Cheetahs at home. After being undefeated for three matches, they lost consecutive matches to Delhi Wizards and Chandigarh Comets, 1–2 and 1–3 respectively. They were the first team to qualify for the playoffs. They defeated Bhopal Badshahs and Mumbai Marines both home and away. The team led the points table almost throughout the league phase due to their consistent performance. However, just one win in last four matches resulted in a number two finish at the end of league phase, trailing Chandigarh Comets by three points.
Sher-e-Punjab faced Karnataka Lions (who finished number three in the league phase) in the semi-final. They conceded an early goal but went on to thrash the hosts 4–1 to enter the final. They faced and defeated Pune Strykers in the final 5–2 and thus became the first ever champions of the WSH. Deepak Thakur scored 12 goals for the team.

## Team composition

Source:
| Player | Nationality | Matches | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||
| Antoni Kindler | Canada | | - |
| Dinesh Ekka | India | 8 | - |
| Sukhjeet Singh | India | 8 | - |
| Strikers ||||
| Akashdeep Singh | India | | |
| Deepak Thakur | India | 16 | 12 |
| Didar Singh | India | 5 | |
| Gagan Ajit Singh | India | 16 | 5 |
| Gagandeep Singh | India | 9 | 1 |
| Gurjant Singh | India | 16 | |
| Inderjit Singh | India | 16 | 1 |
| Karamjit Singh | India | 16 | 2 |
| Mandeep Antil | India | 16 | 3 |
| Prabhdeep Singh Sr. | India | 15 | |
| Prabhjot Singh (captain) | India | 13 | 10 |
| Midfielders ||||
| Gurmail Singh | India | | |
| Imran Khan | India | 8 | |
| Jasbir Singh | India | 15 | |
| Matthew Hotchkis | Australia | 16 | 4 |
| Simranjit Singh | India | 6 | |
| V.S. Vinaya | India | 14 | 2 |
| Defenders ||||
| Bikramjeet Singh | India | 5 | 3 |
| Harpal Singh (Vice Captain) | India | 16 | 1 |
| Harpreet Singh | India | 16 | 8 |
| Maik Gunther | Germany | 6 | |
| Tariq Aziz | Pakistan | 15 | 2 |
| Prabhdeep Ram | India | 1 | |
| William Xalco | India | 15 | |

## Fixtures and results
### 2012

| Goals for | 54 (3.38 per match) |
| Goals against | 38 (2.38 per match) |
| Most goals | Deepak Thakur (12 goals) Overall position: 4th |
| No. | Date | Score | Opponent | Venue | Report |
| 1 | 1 March | 5 - 2 | Chennai Cheetahs | Jalandhar | Match 2 |
| 2 | 3 March | 6 - 1 | Karnataka Lions | Jalandhar | Match 6 |
| 3 | 4 March | 3 - 3 | Pune Strykers | Jalandhar | Match 9 |
| 4 | 7 March | 1 - 2 | Delhi Wizards | Jalandhar | Match 15 |
| 5 | 8 March | 1 - 3 | Chandigarh Comets | Chandigarh | Match 17 |
| 6 | 10 March | 3 - 2 | Bhopal Badshahs | Bhopal | Match 22 |
| 7 | 14 March | 3 - 2 | Mumbai Marines | Mumbai | Match 27 |
| 8 | 16 March | 5 - 2 | Chandigarh Comets | Jalandhar | Match 31 |
| 9 | 17 March | 4 - 3 | Bhopal Badshahs | Jalandhar | Match 33 |
| 10 | 21 March | 2 - 1 | Mumbai Marines | Jalandhar | Match 39 |
| 11 | 23 March | 1 - 2 | Karnataka Lions | Bangalore | Match 42 |
| 12 | 25 March | 4 - 2 | Chennai Cheetahs | Chennai | Match 45 |
| 13 | 27 March | 2 - 3 | Pune Strykers | Pune | Match 49 |
| 14 | 30 March | 5 - 7 | Delhi Wizards | Delhi | Match 55 |
| 15 | 1 April | 4 - 1 | Karnataka Lions | Bangalore | Semi-final 1 |
| 16 | 2 April | 5 - 2 | Pune Strykers | Mumbai | Final |
| Position in league phase: 2nd Champions ||||||

## Statistics

| Season | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win% |
| 2012 | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 62.50% |
| Home | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 71.43% |
| Away | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 55.56% |
| Overall | 16 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 62.50% |

### Hat-tricks

| No. | Player | Opposition | Result | Season | Venue | Report |
| 1 | Deepak Thakur | Chandigarh Comets | 5 – 2 | 2012 | Jalandhar – Surjeet Hockey Stadium | 16 March 2012 |
| 2 | Prabhjot Singh | Delhi Wizards | 5 – 7 | 2012 | Delhi – Dhyan Chand National Stadium | 30 March 2012 |