Balbir wants to see India back on top

UTHRA GANESAN

CHANDIGARH

FROM outside, 1067 seems like any other house in Chandigarh’s Sector 36 C. Behind its unassuming facade, though, lives a story from that time in history when India were the unquestioned rulers of hockey.

Balbir Singh senior is the only player apart from Dhyanchand to win three Olympic gold medals. He has another enviable record — India never came back without a medal from any tournament that featured Balbir Singh, as a player, coach or manager. No surprise, then, that India’s failure to qualify for the Olympics last year moved him greatly.

“A person who has been fit all his life has not been keeping well ever since the Chile disaster. He could not eat or sleep for days,” says his daughter Sushbir, with whom he stays during his India visits every year. The rest of the time he stays in Canada.

The man himself is too humble to claim any greatness. “We had a great team, they were great players,” is all he says about his playing days.

Balbir Singh won his three golds at London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956). He was the manager of the Indian team that won India’s only World Cup gold in 1975 and was the first sportsperson to be awarded the Padma Shri, in 1957. He has also written two books — The Golden Hat-trick and The Golden Yardstick.

His room is covered with black and white pictures of his glory days and his family. A hockey stick close to his bed is the only link left to the days when he mesmerised the best of defenders. Today, he hardly watches hockey.

“Who plays hockey? Who cares for hockey?” he asks. On a recent visit to his Khalsa College, Amritsar — his alma mater — he was appalled to see a single broken goalpost at the hockey field that once attracted hundreds of players every day.

But Balbir Singh refuses to say anything negative. “I am grateful to this game. My first love has always been hockey. My last wish is to see India on top again,” he says.

Then there are the Olympic medals. Sushbir brings them, carefully wrapped in soft cloth. These are the only ones he’s left with. “SAI said they wanted to honour him and took his medals to be displayed. Some time later, they said the medals were missing,” says his son-in-law, MS Bhomia.