All White Singh flying the flag for New Zealand's Sikh community

[p]The 27-year-old became the first Sikh to ‌play at a World Cup when he took ‌the field in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a]'s 2-2 draw with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]‌Iran[/a] in Los Angeles in their opener.[/p][p]“[b]It means a lot to me, it means a lot to ‌my people, my family, my community,[/b]" ⁠he told reporters ‌at the team's hotel in San Diego, California on ​Thursday.[/p][p]“[b]I’m very happy to be the first, and pave the way for the ​rest of them coming through. I hope to see many more Singhs and Sikhs and ⁠Punjabi footballers coming ​through, and Indian heritage footballers.[/b]"[/p][embed guid="a5406949-66c4-4b38-a3d1-d9cdf6c773c4" url="https://x.com/Footballtweet/status/2067924855077449991" social-type="twitter" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/india/A1UUGpep/"]India[/a] have never played at a World Cup, though they qualified for the 1950 tournament in Brazil when other Asian ‌nations withdrew from qualifying. India ended up pulling out of the tournament due to financial concerns.[/p][p]Several players with Indian heritage are representing other nations at the finals in North America, including [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/australia/xSrf6qMM/"]Australia[/a] forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/velupillay-nishan/fahbBTEI/"]Nishan Velupillay[/a], whose mother has southern Indian roots, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/qatar/zqzHL77i/"]Qatar[/a] winger [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mohammed-tahsin/vDWgZZ3e/"]Tahsin Jamshid[/a].[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/singh-sarpreet/6N9LXYZH/"]Singh[/a] said he had noticed people supporting him ‌when New Zealand played at a tournament ​in India several years ago.[/p][p]"[b]I always know I’m ‌representing them, as well as New Zealand, so I always try and do my best[/b],” he said.[/p][p]New Zealand will bid for their first World Cup win against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a] ⁠in their second ⁠Group G match on ‌Sunday in Vancouver.[/p]