Punjab Post Daily Online Newspaper & Print Media
Amritsar, April 6 (Punjab Post Bureau)- Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) today demanded `Bharat Ratna’ for hockey legend and Olympian Balbir Singh senior. While according a grand reception to the hockey star of the erstwhile era, Council’s honourary secretary Mr.Rajinder Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina appealed state’s SAD-BJP government to recommend his name to the Centre for the top civilian award to recognize his services.
Balbir Singh, 92, arrived here at the historic Khalsa College’s annual sports prize distribution function today where he was honoured by the management. Born in 1924, Balbir Singh, a field hockey player was a member of three Olympic gold medal winning teams in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) in which he was vice captain and Melbourne (1956) when he was the Captain of the Indian team. “Apart from this, his hockey career spans to over 30 years where he earned number of world titles’’, said Chhina. He is a Olympic record holder for the most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men’s hockey final remains unbeaten even till date. He had set this record when he scored five goals in India’s 6-1 victory over Netherlands in the gold medal game of the 1952 Olympic Games.
An alumni of the Khalsa College, Balbir Singh said that he wanted to be a teacher though was interested in sports. “I played at the school level at Moga and then my family shifted to Lahore and he took admission in National College Lahore where he was spotted by legendry Hockey Coach of Khalsa College Amritsar Harbail Singh who brought him to Khalsa College in 1942 which was then affiliated to Panjab University.
There was no looking back and he emerged as one of the more promising and distinguished hockey player India has ever produced. Khalsa College Principal Dr.Mehal Singh called him `living legend’ as Balbir Singh today visited the hostel rooms of the Nabha and Jind hostel where he stayed as a hosteler. “The memories of hostel lawns and the green grounds of my alma mater are still fresh in my mind’’, he said as he addressed the students saying these grounds nurtured him as a player he was. A humble soul he said he lives in Delhi and was thankful to College Management for inviting him as he was assisted by his Canada based nephew Kabir Singh.
