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KUALA LUMPUR: India’s hockey captain, Manpreet Singh Pawar, married Malaysian Illi Najwa Saddique in a wedding ceremony in Jalandhar, Punjab, after a six-year engagement.
Najwa is the niece of the Minister of National Unity Halimah Mohamed Sadique.
The wedding was attended by relatives, relatives, players of the national team, officials and invited guests.
NST reported that Najwa, 27, managed to obtain special permission from the Malaysian authorities and the Indian Ministry of the Interior for the wedding.
The couple met when Najwa was a spectator at a hockey game in which Manpreet played for the Indian youth team during the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2012.
NST reported that an anonymous official said their courtship began when Manpreet returned as captain of the Indian national team for the annual Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament in Ipoh. They then got engaged on February 26, 2014.
“Manpreet had reportedly fallen in love with Illi Najwa’s charm and courteous demeanor, including serving hot chappati at his home on their second date.”
The official said that after their engagement, they had to postpone wedding plans due to Manpreet’s involvement in international hockey and the Indian National Hockey League.
Manpreet first played for India in 2011 when he was 19 years old and was named Asia’s “Junior Player of the Year” in 2014. He has been the captain of India since May 2017.
Najwa admitted that hockey would remain Manpreet’s priority even after their wedding, and that she would be honored to be by his side in Tokyo during the Olympics, which will be Manpreet’s third Olympic debut.
