Balbir Singh

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Balbir Singh Dosanjh (born October 10, 1924 in Haripur , Punjab , † May 25, 2020 in Mohali ) was an Indian hockey player . He was among the seven hockey players to win three Olympic gold medals and is considered one of the best strikers of all time.

Career

At the Olympic Games in London in 1948 Balbir Singh was only used in two games. In the 9-1 win against Argentina in the preliminary round, Singh scored a hat trick and a total of six goals. In the final against the British, he scored two goals in a 4-0 win.

At the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 he was the flag bearer of the Indian team at the opening ceremony. He scored a goal in the preliminary round. In the semifinals against the British, he scored all three goals with a hat trick to make it 3-1. In the final, he scored five goals, including a hat trick, in a 6-1 win over the Netherlands.

In 1956 in Melbourne Balbir Singh was again the flag bearer of his team. In the first game against Afghanistan, he scored five goals before breaking the ring finger of his right hand. Because substitutions were not allowed at the time, he was not used in the other preliminary round matches, Randhir Singh Gentle took over his captaincy in the Indian national team . The Indian team managed to play down Balbir Singh's injury despite everything. He was used in the semifinals and in the final and was able to tie opposing defenders and thus give his teammates more leeway.

Outside of the national team, Balbir Singh came up for the university selection of Khalsa College in Amritsar and for the Punjab team. With the Punjab team, he won the Indian championship in 1946 and 1947. After the partition of India in 1947, many of his teammates belonged to Pakistan . In his autobiography it says:

Partition left the nation divided of talent in every field. In sports, hockey was particularly affected, and we in Punjab were the hardest hit. The 1947 National Championship in Bombay was the last time a team from undivided Punjab would play in India. On our return to Lahore, my friends Shah Rukh, AIS Dara, Aziz and Khurram all stayed back in Lahore and adopted the colors of the new nation.

Balbir Singh was also able to become Indian champions in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1954 with the rest of the Punjabs team .

In 1957, Balbir Singh was the first hockey player to be honored with the Padma Shri . In 1962, Balbir Singh lit the flame at the opening of the Asian Games in New Delhi. In the 1970s Balbir Singh worked as a coach and later as a manager of the Indian national team. In 1977 he published his autobiography under the title The Golden Hat Trick . He died in May 2020 at the age of 95.

Identical names

In the Indian national hockey team, which won the bronze medal in Mexico City in 1968 , there were three hockey players named Balbir Singh. Balbir Singh I was born on August 8, 1942, Balbir Singh II on April 5, 1945 and Balbir Singh III on September 21, 1945. To distinguish between these three players and others, the three-time Olympic champion is also referred to in some sources as Balbir Singh Senior .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Chitra Garg: Indian Champions: Profiles of Famous Indian Sportspersons. Rajpal & Sons, 2010, p. 238 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  2. ^ Samuel Banerjee: Partition of India - The Golden Hat-Trick . Vikas Publishers / bharatiyahockey.org, 1977, p. 6.
personal data
SURNAME Singh, Balbir
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Singh Dosanjh, Balbir (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Indian hockey player and coach
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1924
PLACE OF BIRTH Haripur
DATE OF DEATH May 25, 2020
Place of death Mohali