India hockey captain Manpreet Singh tied the knot with his long-time girlfriend from Malaysia, Illi Najwa Saddique on Wednesday at his native village in Jalandhar, Punjab. Manpreet and Illi were engaged as early as 2014, 2 years after their first meeting in Malaysia.
Friends and family of Manpreet and Illi Saddique attended the wedding which was followed by lunch. Manpreet was donning a Punjabi wedding suit while Illi was wearing a Punjabi bridal costume for their wedding. The photos of Manpreet’s wedding with his girlfriend have been widely shared by the hockey star’s fans on social media.
Manpreet Singh, 28, met Illi in 2012 when the India captain toured Malaysia, leading the senior national hockey team for the Sultan of Johor Cup. Manpreet said Illi was among the fans and the two managed to meet and exchange phone numbers.
Manpreet and Illi scheduled their wedding before the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 but the Covid-19 pandemic not just delayed the Games but their wedding too.
“We met in 2012 when I had gone to Malaysia for the Sultan of Johor Cup. She was among the spectators. We had a brief interaction and I was carried away by her charm. I managed to get her phone number and stayed in touch. We got engaged in February 2014,” Manpreet told The Tribune. The hockey star also confirmed that Illi would be staying with him in Punjab. Illi had been working at a university in Malaysia while her family hails from Pakistan.
Manpreet is an integral member of the Indian hockey team. He took over as captain in 2017 and is expected to lead the side at next year’s Games. Manpreet, who was part of the Asian Games gold-medal winning side in 2014, has scored 19 goals in 242 senior appearances.
