MUMBAI: National-level hockey player Udaybir Sandhu says his love for sports helped him get a role in Akshay Kumar starrer Gold. Born in a small district in Amritsar, Udaybir played several sports growing up, such as football and hockey.

When asked about Gold, Udaybir said, ‘I was in Cape Town for a modelling assignment for three months when I got a call to audition for an important part in the film as the casting team knew I was a hockey player.’

‘I went for the audition, and after a few days, they gave me the part mostly because I didn't have to learn hockey like most of the other actors, as I was naturally good at it.’

Udaybir is a huge fan of Akshay. He said, ‘Akshay is a superstar not only on the screen but also off-screen. I have been following Akshay since my childhood. .. I made sure I didn't make any mistakes while acting along with him during the scenes.’

Gold is a sports drama based on India’s first gold win as an independent nation at the 1948 Summer Olympics. It is directed by Reema Kagti and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the Excel Entertainment banner. It stars Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Amit Sadh, and Sunny Kaushal.