Deepak Thakur Sonkhla was born on 28th December in the year 1980 in Bhamowal, Hoshiarpur. This field hockey forward made his international debut in the year 1997 for the Men`s National Hockey Team under 21 in a test series against Russia. He was nicknamed as Happy. In the two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 2000 in Sydney, Australia, Thakur represented his native country at the tournament. At that tournament India finished in the seventh place.

Deepak Thakur Sonkhla completed his education from Mount Shivalik Public School, Una (HP) and is a Bachelor of Arts from Mahendra College, Patiala. He is working presently in the Indian Oil Corporation. He is the product of SAI Sports Development Training Centre, Patiala. He was there from 1993 to 94; after that at the Air India Hockey Academy at Delhi. He is currently playing for the Indian Oil Corporation team. In the national level he has played:

Junior Nationals --- Jun 1999 - Bangalore (1st) - Played for Air India Academy 18 GOALS, and won the title `Forward of the Tournament`; 1995 - 7 GOALS

Senior Nationals --- Dec 2000 - Jammu (Captain of IOC team); Mar 1999 - Hyderabad - 12 GOALS; May 1997 - Bangalore - 8 GOALS.

Beighton Cup --- Mar/Apr 2003 - Kolkata (2nd)

Muruguppa Gold Cup --- Jul 2002 - Chennai (Lost in semi-finals); Aug 2001 - Chennai (1st) - IHF Juniors, CAPTAIN.

Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament --- Nov/Dec 2003 - Delhi (1st), Scored golden goal in final.

Surjeet Memorial Hockey Tournament --- 1998 - Jalandhar, Player of the tournament.

Throughout his career Deepak Thakur Sonkhla has participated at the international tournaments and are as follows:

Olympics --- Aug 2004 - Athens (7th), 1 GOAL; Sep 2000 - Sydney (7th), 1 GOAL.

World Cup --- Feb/Mar 2002 - Kuala Lumpur (10th), 4 GOALS

Champions Trophy --- Aug 2003 - Amstelveen (4th), 6 GOALS; Aug/Sep 2002 - Cologne (4th), 1 GOAL.

Asian Games --- Sep/Oct 2002 - Busan (2nd), 1 GOAL Member of All-Star Asian Games team.

Asia Cup --- Sep 2003 - Kuala Lumpur (1st), 3 GOALS; Nov 1999 - Kuala Lumpur (3rd), 4 GOALS.

Afro-Asian Games --- Oct 2003 - Hyderabad (1st), 2 GOALS

Champions Challenge --- Dec 2001 - Kuala Lumpur (1st), 4 GOALS

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup --- Aug 2001 - Kuala Lumpur (5th), 4 GOALS; Feb 2000 - Kuala Lumpur (3rd), 3 GOALS.

Junior World Cup --- 2001 - Hobart (1st), 10 GOALS. At the tournament he was the Vice-captain. And later was conferred the title `Top-scorer of the Tournament` as he Scored hat-trick in the final.

Junior Asia Cup --- May 2000 - Kuala Lumpur (2nd), 9 GOALS Junior Asia Cup All-Star Team.

African Tour --- Aug 1999 - Johannesburg - 5-Test Series vs. South Africa (Lost 0-3)

Asian Tour --- Jun 2001 - 4-Test Series With Malaysia (Won 1-0), 1 GOAL; Mar 2001 - Dhaka - 9-Nation Prime Minister`s Gold Cup (1st), 3 GOALS.

Australian Tour --- Apr 2004 - Sydney - 4-Nation Tournament (LAST), 2 GOALS; Apr 2004 - Canberra - 4-Nation Tournament (2nd), 3 GOALS; Jun 2002 - Melbourne - 4-Nation Tournament (2nd); May/Jun 2002 - Adelaide - 4-Nation Tournament (2nd); Apr 2000 - Sydney (3rd in 4-Nation); Apr 2000 - Perth (1st in 4-Nation), 1 GOAL; Sep 1999 - Last in 4-Nation Tournament, 5 GOALS.

European Tour --- Aug 2004 - Leverkusen - 3-Test Series vs. Ireland (Won 2-1), 1 GOAL; Jul 2004 - Dusseldorf - 4-Nation Tournament (2nd), 1 GOAL; Jun/Jul 2004 - Amstelveen - Rabobank 4-Nation Tournament (Last), 1 GOAL; Mar 2004 - Madrid - Olympic Qualifier (4th), 7 GOALS; Jun 2003 - Hamburg - 4-Nation Panasonic Masters (1st), 1 GOAL; Aug 2002 - Amstelveen - Rabobank 4-Nation Tournament (LAST); Jun 1999 - Brussels - 4-Test Series vs. Belgium (Won 2-1); Jun 1999 - 4-Test Series vs. Germany (Lost 1-3); Sep 1997 - u-21 Test Series vs. Russia.

New Zealand Tour --- Jun 2001 - Lost 1-2-1

Test Series at Home --- Dec 2004 - Delhi - 2-Test Series vs. France (Lost 0-1); Sep 2001 - Hyderabad - 4-Test Series vs. Malaysia Jrs. (Won 2-1); Feb/Mar 2001 - 3-Test Series vs. Germany (Lost 1-2), 1 GOAL.

He has played for HTC Stuttgart foreign club at Stuttgart from Aug 2007 to Oct 2007.