Post their Paris Olympics bronze medal, the Indian men’s hockey team won gold at the Asian Champions Trophy in China.
New Delhi: The Indian men’s hockey players were left embarrassed, including captain Harmanpreet Singh, after fans overlook the Boys in Blue and flocked Dolly Chaiwala for selfies at an airport. Fresh from winning bronze at the Paris Olympics last month, Harmanpreet’s men lived up to the expectations with a gold medal at the Asian Champions Trophy in China. The incident took place at an airport where the Indian players and Dolly were both present. Instead of appreciating the champion players, people at the airport chose to take pictures with Dolly, which took India midfielder Hardik Singh by surprise.
“I saw it with my own eyes, at the airport. Harmanpreet (Singh), I, Mandeep (Singh); there were 5-6 of us. Dolly chaiwala was also there. People were getting themselves clicked with him and did not recognize us. We started looking at each other,” the 26-year-old said on the podcast.
“Harmanpreet has scored more than 150 goals, Mandeep has more than 100 field goals. For an athlete, fame and money is one thing. But when people are watching you and appreciating you, there is no bigger satisfaction than that for an athlete,” Hardik added.
Hockey Players 🙄Dolly Chaiwala 🤳
What Priorities we have
“At the airport. Harmanpreet, Mandeep and I were there with 5-6 of us.
Dolly Chaiwala was also there. People were getting themselves clicked with and did not recognise us”Credit SMTVpic.twitter.com/dGFxjUtzbV
— IndiaSportsHub (@IndiaSportsHub) September 27, 2024
Meanwhile, Dolly Chaiwala grabbed eyeballs on internet after Microsoft founder Bill Gates visited his tea stall in Nagpur during his India visit earlier this year. Since then, Dolly became a social media sensation as he was seen appearing on talk shows and public events. Recently, a Kuwaiti vlogger, who was planning to feature Dolly in his show, revealed how much the Indian charge.
“Do you know how much this guy – Dolly Chaiwala – charges? 2,000 dinars. So 5 lakh rupees. That’s roughly around 2,000 or 2,500 KD. That’s not it,” said food blogger who goes by AK Food Vlog online. “2,500 KD, plus one more person will come with him. 4 or 5 star hotel booking. He literally told me that. He wasn’t talking to me, his manager was talking to me…. And this is for one day,” he added.