Name of the sportsperson: Balwinder Singh Fidda
Date of Birth: March 23 in 1956
Discipline: Kabaddi
State: Punjab
Achievements:
• Arjuna Awardee in 1999
• He won the SAF Games gold in 1989
• He was declared the Best Player in 1973 to 1991
• He bagged 22 gold medals from 1977 to 1998
• He also won the gold medal in the first Asian Kabaddi in 1984
Profile:
Balwinder Singh Fidda is one of the most outstanding and legendary players in the game of Kabaddi. He played both forms of Kabaddi namely, National style and Circle style. Being a naturally gifted Kabaddi player he established his name as one of the best raiders in both styles of the game. He has bagged many recognitions including Arjuna Award (1999), Hari Singh Naluha Award etc. Balwinder Fidda was inspired to play top level Kabaddi by two distinguished players namely, Pritam Singh Prita and Sarvan Singh Bal.
Balwinder Fidda started playing Kabaddi at a tender age of 4 at his village Tandi in Punjab. He played Kabaddi at a school & college level and won uncountable matches single handedly. He played his first national level game in the year 1973 representing Punjab School in Indore School National Games and won the gold medal. He reached his prime form in Kabaddi at an early age and was sponsored to play circle style Kabaddi in England in the year 1977. In his first season in England, he helped his team to win 7 matches out of 8. Then started an era in which Kabaddi was taken to another level of performance. Fidda''s unmatched performance as a raider resulted in healthy competition among various clubs and association to have him on their team. This resulted in strong influx and flow of capital which in return lifted the standard of the game. Fidda claimed many ''Man of the Match'' titles for his name Fidda to become a synonym for the game Kabaddi.
Meanwhile, he participated in 18 National Kabaddi Championships held from 1973 to 1991 and was declared the Best Player of the tournament 10 times. From 1977 to 1998, he bagged 22 gold medals for his team in the National All India Police Sports by representing Punjab Police team. In the international arena of sports, he won the Gold medal in the 9th Asian Games held at New Delhi in 1982 (Exhibition Kabaddi Match). He also won the Gold Medal in the first Asian Kabaddi Championship held at Bombay in 1984 as Vice-captain of the Indian team. He bagged his next Gold medal in 4th South Asian Federation Games at Islamabad in 1989 as the Captain of the Indian team. In recognition of his life-time contribution for the promotion of the sport of Kabaddi, he was conferred by Arjuna Award in 1999. After playing professional Kabaddi for over 25 years, the legend retired from the game in the year 1998. Currently, he is posted as the Superintendent of Punjab Police at Jalandhar and is actively promoting Kabaddi by providing coaching services to the new generation of Kabaddi Players. He has also been nominated as the Chairman of All India Kabaddi Federation.
