In a startling revelation about the making of a cricketing legend, Yuvraj Singh's father Yograj Singh has opened up about the extreme measures he took to ensure his son pursued cricket, including throwing away his childhood medals and skates, and even threatening to shoot himself if his son didn't play the sport.
The Early Years: Training a Toddler
Yograj Singh, who continues to coach children and work as an actor in Punjabi films, recently shared these intense memories in a candid chat on the YouTube channel Sports Launchpad By Saurav Yaduvanshi. He revealed that he began training Yuvraj when the future cricket star was just two years old, going against his family's wishes from the very beginning.
The father recalled a particularly emotional moment when Yuvraj was just a few months old. "One day, I was very sad, crying a lot and I was thinking what god had done to me. At 2-3 am, I picked up Yuvi and I hugged him. I thought that if I just die like this, it will mean nothing," Yograj shared, describing his state of mind at the time.
A Father's Desperate Plea
In what he described as a moment of desperation, Yograj placed the infant Yuvraj in front of the Guru Granth Sahib and made a dramatic declaration. "I said either you take me away or you give him a blessing," he revealed, adding that he didn't want to live like a loser. The intensity of his emotions led him to declare, "I will shoot myself," highlighting the extreme pressure he felt to create a champion cricketer.
Yograj's belief in his son's potential was reinforced early on when he gave a plastic bat to Yuvraj when the child was almost a year and a half old. Upon hitting the ball, the toddler applied so much force that he managed to break a window pane. "I thought that this boy is a package. He had just started walking then," Yograj recalled with pride, noting that he hadn't taught his son anything at that point.
The Turning Point: Medals Thrown Away
As Yuvraj started growing up, he began developing interests in other sports like tennis and skating, which concerned his father deeply. To bring him back to cricket, Yograj took drastic action that would become a defining moment in their relationship.
"Yuvraj was skating at a competition one day and he got a lot of medals. We sat in the car and I took his medals and threw them out of the car. This was the wrong thing to do. Then I took his skates and threw them out and he started crying," Yograj confessed about the incident when Yuvraj was just five years old.
Family Conflict and Determination
As the young Yuvraj cried in the car, Yograj roared "Shut up," acknowledging that he had a "very bad temper" at the time. The situation escalated when they returned home, with Yograj's mother intervening strongly. "She told me it's better if you die. She told me that if you are going to treat my grandson like this, you better get out of the house. She abused me a lot," he recalled.
In response to this family confrontation, Yograj made his position clear with an ultimatum. "I told them, I said, 'Either I will live in this house, or he will. I want him to play cricket, and I will not let go until he plays. You can do whatever you want to,'" he declared, showcasing the unwavering determination that would eventually shape Yuvraj's career.
The Motivation Behind the Madness
Yograj revealed that his intense approach was driven by a deep-seated desire for his son to achieve what he couldn't. "I wanted my son to get revenge for me, from the system, the selectors, and all those who laughed at me," he explained, referencing his own cricket career that included playing alongside Kapil Dev but never reaching the same heights of success.
Looking back at the results of his extreme parenting methods, Yograj proudly announced that he turned Yuvraj into someone who played cricket even while battling cancer. "This is how champions are made," he declared, standing by his controversial approach despite acknowledging that throwing away the medals was "the wrong thing to do."
The revelations provide a rare glimpse into the intense pressure and family dynamics that shaped one of India's most celebrated cricketers, highlighting the sacrifices and conflicts that often remain hidden behind sporting success stories.
