Australia U19 star Harjas Singh credits Sikh martial art for success

Harjas Singh, the Australian U19 World Cup winner, believes that his unique style of the Sikh martial art of Gatka has helped him stand out from other batters. Singh, one of the most self-assured young spinners in Australia helped his side to a 55-run victory against an Indian attack that was primarily composed of tweakers.

Singh praised India's bowling prowess and stated that his strength is playing spin bowling. He talked about his performance in Australia's 79-run victory against India in the final.

"The stage was set up for me. India spin bowling is their strength, and playing spin bowling is my strength. A big game against India, where my parents are born. So I just took the chance," Singh was quoted as saying by Shepparton News.

Notably, his innings included three maximums and three boundaries against spin. As Australia won their first title since 2010, he scored 52 of his 55 runs against the tweakers. Singh feels that his wrists are what really matter when batting. The Sydney-born cricketer excels at smacking spinners with his powerful wrists, but others coming through the younger ranks thrive on the cut-and-pull shot. He gives credit to Gatka, a martial art that uses a shield and a one-meter stick.

"You have to have very strong wrists for that. It's a lot of sword fighting, and just sword spinning. There's a lot of footwork-based stuff as well. With the heavy spears and swords that you spin, it gets really tiring on your wrist. And the more you do it, the stronger you get," he added.

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He went on to say that if he played Shield, people would think he was one of the first Sikh players to represent NSW or something. 

"If I was to play a Shield game, they'd be like he's one of the first Sikh players to play for NSW or something like that. But it'd be nice to hear the other boys when they come through if they're the third or fourth. It'll be easier for them," the youngster said further.