1936 hockey gold medallist passes away

LONDON: Joseph ‘Joe’ Galibardy, the oldest surviving member of India’s 1936 Olympic hockey team, passed away on Tuesday.

Galibardy, 96, played at left-half for the Indian team that beat Germany 8-1 in the Berlin Games en route to winning the gold medal.

The funeral took place at Our Lady and St. Georges Church in the London suburb of Walthamstow. This was followed by a cremation service at the City of London crematorium at Manor Park.

Galibardy was the oldest living Olympic hockey gold medal winner and the last surviving member of the teams that played in the Berlin final.

Galibardy had lived in Walthamstow since his parents and their seven children emigrated from India in 1956.

The Sports Journalists Association and Hockey Commission of the AIPS were represented at the funeral by Patrick Rowley who, along with Dil Bahra, also represented the Hockey Writers Club.