Name: Balbir Singh Dosanjh, known as Balbir Singh Senior
Born: 10 October 1924, Haripur Khalsa, Punjab
Died: 25 May 2020, Mohali, Punjab
Sport: Hockey
Early life
Balbir Singh Dosanjh was born on 10 October 1924 in Haripur Khalsa in Punjab, into a Jat Sikh family. His father, Dalip Singh Dosanjh, was a freedom fighter who spent long stretches in jail for his part in the independence movement, and much of Balbir’s childhood was shaped by his father’s absence. At the age of 12 he watched a newsreel of India’s hockey gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and the film left him determined to play the game himself. He studied at Dev Samaj High School and D. M. College in Moga, then at Sikh National College in Lahore and Khalsa College in Amritsar, where a coach spotted his talent and he captained the college team to three straight championships. He went on to play for Punjab state, helping it to the national title in 1946 and 1947, and it was this run of form that took him into the Indian team.
1948 and 1952
Singh made his Olympic debut at the 1948 London Games, scoring twice in a 4-0 win over Great Britain in the final as independent India won hockey gold for the first time. At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics he played as vice-captain under K. D. Singh and carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony. He scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 semi-final win over Great Britain, then scored five goals in the final as India beat the Netherlands 6-1, a tally that remains the individual record for a men’s Olympic hockey final. Between the two matches he scored nine of India’s thirteen goals at the Games. Across his international career he scored 246 goals in 61 appearances, including 23 goals in just eight Olympic matches.
1956 and later playing career
Singh captained India at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and scored five goals in the opening match against Afghanistan, but an injury kept him out of the group games, with Randhir Singh Gentle stepping in as captain. He returned for the semi-final and final, in which India beat Pakistan 1-0 to win a third successive gold. In 1954 he had captained an Indian Hockey Federation touring side through Malaya and Singapore that won all 16 of its matches, with Singh the leading scorer on the tour with 44 goals, a mark that underlined how much of India’s attacking threat still ran through him even after two Olympic golds.
Coaching and later life
After retiring as a player, Singh moved into coaching and team management, serving as chief coach and manager of the Indian team that won the 1975 World Cup and manager of the side that took bronze at the 1971 World Cup. He wrote two books, the autobiography “The Golden Hat Trick” in 1977 and “The Golden Yardstick: In Quest of Hockey Excellence” in 2008. In 1982 he lit the flame at the Asian Games in New Delhi, and the same year a national poll by the Patriot newspaper named him Indian Sportsperson of the Century. The 2018 Hindi film “Gold” drew loosely on episodes from his life for one of its characters. Singh died on 25 May 2020, aged 95, at a hospital in Mohali after being admitted with suspected pneumonia. A year later, on the anniversary of his death, the Mohali International Hockey Stadium was renamed the Olympian Balbir Singh Senior International Hockey Stadium in his honour, ensuring his name stayed attached to the game he had spent his life playing and building.
Achievements and awards
Three Olympic gold medals (1948, 1952, 1956); Olympic record of five goals in a men’s hockey final (1952); Padma Shri (1957), the first sportsperson to receive it; Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award (2015).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
