Balbir Singh Kular

Last updated

Balbir Singh Kular
VSM
Personal information
NicknameBalbir Singh (Services)
NationalityIndian
Born (1945-04-05) 5 April 1945 (age 79) [1]
Sansarpur
Alma mater Cant. Board School, Jalandhar
Occupation Indian Army Officer (Colonel)
Military career
AllegianceFlag of India.svg  India
Service / branchFlag of Indian Army.svg  Indian Army
Rank Colonel of the Indian Army.svg Colonel
Awards Vishisht Seva Medal ribbon.svg Vishisht Seva Medal
Sport
CountryIndia
Sport Field hockey
EventMen's team
Team India (International)
Services (National)
Punjab State (National)
Retired1970s
Also served as a coach, manager and selector for the Indian national hockey team
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing Flag of India.svg  India
Summer Olympics
Olympic rings.svg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1968 Mexico City Team
Asian Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1966 Bangkok Team
Updated on 9 June 2012

Colonel Balbir Singh Kular, VSM (born 5 April 1945) is an Indian field hockey player (half-back). He is also known as Balbir Singh Kullar/Khullar, or simply as Balbir Singh. [2]

Contents

Balbir Singh was born in the Sansarpur village of the Jalandhar district, and later settled in the Jalandhar city. As part of the Indian Universities Hockey Team, he played in Afghanistan in 1962. In 1964, he represented the Punjab state in the National Hockey Championship at Delhi.

In 1965, Balbir Singh joined the Indian Army and later, rose to the rank of Colonel. As a member of the national hockey team, he toured Europe (1966–1968), Japan (1966), Kenya (1967) and Uganda (1968).

Balbir Singh was part of the India hockey teams that won the Asian Games Gold in 1966 and the Olympic Bronze in 1968. [3] He scored three goals in the 1968 Olympics.

During 1965–1974, Balbir Singh represented the Services team in the National Hockey Championship of India. He was the captain of the Services team that won the Bombay Gold Cup in 1971.

Balbir Singh retired from active play in the 1970s due to knee problems. He coached the ASC hockey team during 1970–1980. He then coached the Central Zone team (1981), the Indian men's hockey team (1982) and the women's hockey team (1995–98). With him as the coach in 1982, the Indian men's team won Bronze at the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam, Silver at the Asian Games in Delhi and Silver at the 1982 Esanda World Hockey Championship in Melbourne. He also served as a selector for the Indian national hockey team from March 1987 to July 1987, and as its manager for during the Indo-Pan American Hockey Championship (Chandigarh) in 1995.

Balbir Singh later served as the president of Sansarpur Hockey Association. His autobiography Sansarpur to London Olympics was launched by the Indian Army General V K Singh in 2012. His son is Col Sarfraz Singh,a skilled mountaineer who scaled Mount Everest in 2018.His brother-in-law was Col RPS Gill,the youngest officer in his time to receive VSM as a young captain. [4]

Awards and recognition

Balbir Singh was one of the four players to be featured on the special commemorative stamp released on 31 December 1966 by India Post, as a tribute to the Gold medal win at the 1966 Asian Games; the other three were Vinood Kumar, John Victor Peter and Mukhbain Singh. [5]

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References

  1. Bharatiya Hockey
  2. "The Official Home Page of the Indian Army". www.indianarmy.nic.in. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  3. MS Unnikrishnan (29 May 2012), Tracing the history of Indian hockey: From ‘Sansarpur to London Olympics’. The Tribune, Chandigarh.
  4. Olympian Balbir Singh Kular’s autobiography launched. IBN Live, 29 May 2012.
  5. "Field Hockey stamp: India". Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 9 June 2012.