Hockey Legend and three-time Olympic gold medal winner Balbir Singh Sr breathed his last at the age of 95 on May 25, 2020. "He died at around 6:30 this morning," said Abhijit Singh, Director Fortis Hospital, Mohali, Chandigarh.
Singh played key roles in India’s Olympic wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) (as Vice-Captain), and Melbourne (1956) (as Captain). He was also the Manager and Chief Coach of the Indian team, which won its one and only World Cup to date in 1975.
Balbir Singh holds the Guinness world record for the most number of goals scored by an individual player in an Olympics men's hockey final. In the 1952 Olympic final against Holland, India thrashed the opposition 6-1, with Balbir Singh Sr scoring a whopping five goals.
He was also awarded the Padma Shri in 1957 and was conferred the award by then-President Dr. Rajendra Prasad. In March 2015, Balbir Singh Senior was conferred with the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award during the Hockey India Awards.
His death has left a big vacuum in Indian hockey given his experience and contribution to the sport have been vast. His passing was mourned by the country including the Indian cricket fraternity, which took to Twitter to pay their respects to one of the true greats of the game.
Here are some tweets:
