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Congratulations Balbir Singh-ji on being accorded the prestigous honour of
"Best Sikh Player" in Indian Hockey. That was an appropriate and well
deserved award. (see Times of India article below)
You are the undoubtedly the "Best Hockey Ambassador" we have ever had on and
off the field as a hockey player, coach, manager, mentor, and role model to
legions of hockey players worldwide.
I was surprised that your contributions to Indian Hockey as Chief Coach and
Manager of the only World Cup winning Indian Hockey Team (Kuala Lumpur -
1975) were not mentioned in the artiicle below.
I am eagerly looking forward to your forthcoming book "The Golden Yard
Stick" on Hockey Coaching. I strongly recommend that your previous inspiring
biographical book "The Golden Hatrick - My Hockey Days" (1977) should be
required reading for all Indian School Children.
Congratulations Again !
Best Regards,
Dr. Carmo D'Cruz,
Indian Harbour Beach, Florida.
Honouring Sardars of Indian hockey
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI, April 26: The Capital, on Wednesday, saw some of the biggest
names in Indian hockey - from the legendary Balbir Singh (Senior) to Pargat
Singh - come together under the same roof. The occasion? Selection of 10
best Sikh players who have played for the country.
Balbir Singh (senior) was chosen the best among the lot by a panel headed by
former Chief Justice of India, JS Verma and comprising former Olympians like
Leslie Claudius.
It was a rare sight. The players who created awe in the minds of the rivals
on the field, and for decades lived in the hearts of the fans, enlivened the
proceedings in the conference hall of a city hotel, recounting interesting
tales of those golden days that have now been confined to history books.
Balbir sounded very excited when he talked about his goals in the Helsinki
Olympics, where India won the gold. "Those were one of the best days of my
life. It's a great honour to have played for my country and I am proud to
have been chosen for this award from amongst some of the greatest players,"
said Balbir, who helped India win three Olympic gold medals in 1948, 1952
and 1956.
Another top-ten player Pargat Singh went down the memory lane describing his
moves during his magical display against Germany in a 1985 Champions Trophy
league match where India came back from 1-5 down to draw the match 5-5. Of
the goal he had scored, Pargat said: "It was a lucky goal."
But probably the most appealing words came from the sister of former forward
Udham Singh, who while accepting the honour on the behalf of her late
brother, asked the likes of Balbir Singh and Ajitpal Singh to work for
hockey's cause.
"He (Udham) was a role model for Sansarpur hockey players. I still remember
that whenever he went for practice Balbir, Ajitpal and Tarsem (Singh) would
follow him. Now that both Balbir and Ajitpal have also been picked as top
players, I would like to ask them to do something for hockey," she said.
A noble thought indeed and the gesture was well appreciated by the audience,
which included the likes of former IHF president Ashwini Kumar, mercurial
striker Dhanraj Pillay, assistant coach of the national team Harendra Singh
and Jagbir Singh.
The top 10 Sikh players: Balbir Singh (Sr), Udham Singh, Surjit Sigh,
Harbinder Singh, Prithpal Singh, Ajitpal Singh, Dharam Singh (Sr), Balbir
Singh (Railways), Balbir Singh (Services) and Pargat Singh.
b
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