Balbir Singh, Sr.

Balbir Singh Dosanjh ( born October 10, 1924 in Haripur, Punjab ) is a former Indian hockey player. He belongs to the seven hockey players to have won three Olympic gold medals, and is considered one of the best strikers of all time.

Career

At the 1948 Olympic Games in London Balbir Singh was only used in two games. When 9:1 against Argentina in the first round Singh scored a hat trick and six goals. In the final against the British get him two hits in a 4-0 victory.

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

1956 in Melbourne Balbir Singh was again standard-bearer of his team. In the first match against Afghanistan, he scored five goals before the ring finger of the right hand broke off. After substitutions at that time were not allowed, he was not used in the preliminary round games, Randhir Singh Gentle took over the captaincy role in the Indian national team. The Indian team lead, shut Balbir Singh's injury despite everything to play succeeded. He was inducted in the semifinals and the finals and could bind defenders and thus give his teammates more room to maneuver.

Outside the national Balbir Singh went to the university selection of Khalsa College in Amritsar and for the crew of the Punjab. With the team of the Punjab he won in 1946 and 1947, the Indian Championship. After the partition of India in 1947, included a substantial number of his teammates to Pakistan. In his autobiography, states that:

Balbir Singh was honored in 1957 as the first hockey player with the Padma Shri. Balbir Singh 1962 lit the flame at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games in New Delhi. In the 1970s, worked Balbir Singh as coach and later as manager of the Indian national team. In 1977 he published his autobiography under the title The Golden Hat- trick.

Homonymy

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

Sources, Web Links

  • Portrait on indianet (English)
  • Short portrait (English)
  • Autobiography The Golden Hat- Trick ( English)
  • Balbir Singh at Sports- Reference.com (English)
  • Olympic champion (Hockey)
  • Hockey player (India)
  • Olympian (India)
  • Support of Padma Shri
  • Indian
  • Born in 1924
  • Man
India national field hockey team
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