K. ARUMUGAM

Jaswant Singh Gill … .. It’s sad that a hockey player known for courage and determination is almost incognito when it comes to reeling off names from the pantheon of greats. Sure, Dhyan Chand, Balbir Singh Sr, Leslie Claudius, Prithipal Singh and RS Bhola have etched their names indelibly in the country’s glorious hockey history but lest we forget, there was a valiant centre-forward who did his best and more in the lost 1960 Rome Olympic final to Pakistan.

Old timers who have seen Jaswant Singh, again from Punjab, vouch for his skills. Now on the verge of turning 90, Jaswant was tall and not afraid of tackling rival players without any fear. He had made his presence felt for the Services team in the build-up to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, which is better known for Milkha Singh’s legendary run.

“Had it been another era, Jaswant may have gone on to play much more for India is the general feeling. “He had no hesitation in tackling the Pakistani players in the 1960 Olympics. I have heard this myself from some of the Pakistan players,” said Colonel Balbir Singh, now settled in Jalandhar.

‘In those days, anyone who played for Services had to be really good. In that era, we had a problem of plenty and superstars underlined the performances in India’s wins. As far as Jaswant Singh goes, what stands out from the stories I have heard is he played fearless hockey. Even in the final, he tried hard,” said Colonel Balbir.

Toofani Jaswant (centre) scoring with whiplash of a shot at Rome

Balbir says the talent bank six decades ago was so rich that breaking into the Olympic team was very tough. “Jaswant was good to play more but then, so many more players in that era faced similar problems,” he recalled.

Jaswant was born on September 30, 1931, in a village named Gurusar Sadhar near Ludhiana in rural Punjab, to Sarwan Singh Gill and Tej Kaur Gill. His grandfather Sadda Singh Gill was much respected in the area and was instrumental in setting up the Khalsa School at Sadhar.

The school had a formidable hockey team at the time and it gave the young Jaswant early education and exposure to the sport. Jaswant’s father was transferred to the Jalandhar Cantonment where the youngster wielded the stick for a few years before returning to Sadhar where he passed out of school in 1947.

Jaswant, the deep eyes and depth of talent…

It coincided with partition and the pain and turmoil that came with it after India and Pakistan won Independence from British rule. After spending a couple of years in college during which he continued playing hockey, he followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and joined the Indian Army.

He joined Bengal Engineering Group at Roorkie, Uttar Pradesh. Well built and standing six feet two inches tall, the young recruit with incredible quickness easily caught the eye. Jaswant’s career received a shot in the arm when was transferred to Meerut where he got the opportunity to play under the great Dhyan Chand, the Wizard himself!

He grabbed it with both hands and trained extremely hard under the Wizard’s tutelage and before long received acclaim for his talent and prowess. By 1955 he had cemented his place in the team as centre-forward, a tremendous achievement given the stature of strength of the Services team that boasted of many an Olympic gold medal winner of 1948 and 1952 fame.

Jaswant knocked on the doors of selection for the 1956 Olympic team but the Army’s priorities deemed that he was selected for officer’s training at the Indian Military Academy. He followed his orders like a good soldier, joined IMA and passed out in 1957 after which he was commissioned to the 2nd Rajputana Rifles.

But Jaswant kept his rendezvous with hockey. The Indian Hockey Federation immediately selected him for the team that played in the international tournament in Kabul in 1958. Jaswant acquitted himself creditably at the 1959 National Championship and duly represented India at the hockey festival in Munich the same year. India scored 19 goals out of which 13 were scored by Jaswant.

A Pre-Olympic reception with Italian hosts: (l-r) Udam Singh , Jaswant Singh, Gurjit Singh and Prithipal Singh

He then toured Spain, Italy and Egypt in the same year and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in early 1960.

Jaswant wore the mantle of captain of the formidable Services team in 1960. His team faced Railways in the National championship final at Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the fiercely contested match was locked 1-1 with only a few minutes left on the clock. Jaswant, however, broke the stalemate with a breathtaking solo goal to lift the trophy for his beloved Services. The effort saw his image on the front cover of the famous magazine Sports and Pastime.

For five years did Jaswant represent Services team during which he was captain for two of those. Service crowned themselves champions in 1955, 1959 and 1960. An official Souvenir magazine published by the Indian Olympic Association describes him as the ‘Outstanding player capable of playing in all three forward positions. How true!

Jaswant enjoyed playing alongside redoubtable such as RS Bhola, VJ Peter, Shankar Laxman, Santa Ram, Haripal Kaushik, Hardyal Singh and others in ranks of the Services. On Indian camps and campaigns, he was eager to share rooms with the young Prithipal and his friend Balkishen Singh from the Railways.

The playing XI of Rome Olympics, pose before the final. Jaswant, tallest of them all, is standing at 3rd from right 

He held the legendary Claudius in high esteem and Dhyan Chand had a mesmerizing effect on him and inspired him to relate tales of the great player who seemed to have another set of eyes at the back of his head, doing so with absolute admiration of a complete player.

Preparations for the Rome Olympics were on full steam and the team reached the Italian capital two months in advance. They had a plenty of social receptions, making friends, landing in homely receptions.

India won all their pool matches with Jaswant scoring four goals. A 1-0 win over Australia in the quarterfinals, thanks to RS Bhola scoring, set India up against Great Britain in the semifinals. This time Udham Singh struck the lone goal to bring India face-to-face against bitter rivals Pakistan in the final. Four years earlier, India won 1-0 against the Green Shirts to retain the gold medal at Melbourne. The Pakistanis had gone from strength to strength since then and took on India in a fiercely fought match.

Jaswant strove manfully, but the day belonged to Pakistan who made history with Nasir Bunda’s goal, the only one in the final. It stopped India’s run of six successive gold medal wins in the Olympics and a reign of 32 years.

In 1961, Jaswant married namesake Jaswant Kaur Gill and they had three wonderful daughters whom they raised impeccably.

He remained an avowed armyman and during his long tenure with Rajputana Rifles, he commanded various sensitive border positions in areas like Kargil, Bandipore and other locations along Kashmir and China borders.

He attained the rank of LT Col and went on to command 5 Rajputana Rifles before retiring from the army in 1983. He could have moved to Canada or the US but chose to remain in India and not join his siblings (three sisters and a brother).

Jaswant also lived up to his preference of moving back to his ancestral home at Sadhar near Ludhiana. He refurbished the old house where he lives a simple life. He is not enamored by awards or recognition but relishes going to local colleges and schools to inspire students.

He is an avid reader and practices meditation. The Covid pandemic compelled him and wife to move to Mumbai where he enjoys the company of his daughters grandchildren.

When he flashes back to Rome 1960, he laughs at the award he received for winning the Olympic silver medal. The prize Rs 100! That too, from the Services not the government. However, he is grateful to the government for the pension he receives for the last 20 years for winning silver medal at Rome more than six decades ago.

With additional input from family sources

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