Balbir Singh Sr. Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More
Quick Info→
Wife: Sushil
Hometown: Jalandhar, Punjab
Age: 95 Years
Bio | |
Full Name | Balbir Singh Dosanjh |
Profession | Indian Hockey Player |
Physical Stats & More | |
Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in Feet Inches- 5’ 8” |
Eye Colour | Dark Brown |
Hair Colour | White |
Field Hockey | |
International Debut | In the 1948 London Summer Olympics against Argentina |
Jersey Number | #13 (India) |
Domestic Team(s) | • Punjab University (National) • Punjab Police (National) • Punjab State (National) |
Coach/Mentor | Harbail Singh |
Nature on field | Aggressive |
Position | Centre-forward |
Awards & Achievements | • Member of 3 times Olympic Gold Medal winning teams (1948, 1952, and 1956 Olympic Games). • Member of 2 times Silver Medal winning teams at the Asian Games (1958 & 1962). • First sports person to be honoured with the Padma Shri Award (1957). • In 1958, Balbir, along with Gurdev Singh, was featured on a stamp issued by the Dominican Republic to commemorate the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. • In 1982, he lit the Sacred Flame at the New Delhi Asian Games. • In 1982, the Patriot newspaper adjudged him the Indian Sportsperson of the Century. • In 2006, he was named the Best Sikh Hockey Player. • In 2015, Hockey India conferred him with the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award. |
Career Turning Point | In the 1948 London Summer Olympics, when he scored 6 goals (including a hat-trick) against Argentina. |
Records | • Olympic record for most goals scored in men's hockey final by an individual. • The only Indian among 16 legends chosen by the International Olympic Committee across modern Olympic history. |
Personal Life | |
Date of Birth | 10 October 1924 (Friday) |
Birthplace | Haripur Khalsa, Punjab |
Date of Death | 25 May 2020 (Monday) |
Time of Death | 6:30 am [1]The Hindu |
Place of Death | Fortis Hospital, Mohali, Punjab |
Age (at the time of death) | 95 Years |
Death Cause | He died after battling multiple health issues. [2]The Hindu |
Zodiac sign | Libra |
Nationality | Indian |
Hometown | Jalandhar, Punjab |
School | Dev Samaj High School, Moga, Punjab, India |
College | • DM College, Moga, Punjab, India • Sikh National College, Lahore, Pakistan • Khalsa College, Amritsar |
Family | Father- Dalip Singh Dosanjh (Freedom Fighter) Mother- Name Not Known Brother- Not Known Sister- Not Known |
Religion | Sikhism |
Residence | Burnaby (Canada); Chandigarh (India) |
Hobbies | Reading, Listening to Music |
Favourite Things | |
Hockey Player(s) | Ali Iqtidar Shah (Dara), Mohd Azam, Dhyan Chand |
Girls, Family & More | |
Marital Status (at the time of death) | Married |
Wife | Sushil (m. 1946) |
Children | Daughter- Sushbir Sons- Kanwalbir, Karanbir, Gurbir |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Balbir Singh Sr.
- Did Balbir Singh Sr. drink alcohol:? Yes
- He was born in Haripur Khalsa; a small village in the Jalandhar district of Punjab.
- His father Dalip Singh Dosanjh was a Freedom Fighter.
- Harbail Singh, the then coach of Khalsa College Hockey Team, was the first person who spotted Balbir as a promising Hockey player.
- It was Harbail who frequently insisted on the transfer of Balbir from Sikh National College, Lahore to Khalsa College, Amritsar.
- In 1942, he was transferred to Khalsa College and began intensive training under Harbail’s guidance.
- In 1942, he was selected in the Punjab University Hockey Team and under his captaincy, the Team won All India Inter-University titles 3 years in a row: 1943, 1944, and 1945.
- He has been a member of the last team of “Undivided Punjab” that won the title at the 1947 National Championships.
- After the partition of India in the year 1947, he moved to Ludhiana along with his family where he got a posting in the Punjab Police.
- For 20 years (1941-1961), he captained the Punjab Police Hockey Team.
- Playing in his first International Match at the 1948 London Summer Olympics, he scored 6 goals (including a hat-trick) against Argentina.
- In 1952, he became the vice-captain of the Men’s Indian Hockey Team for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
- He was India’s “Flag Bearer” during the ‘Opening Ceremony’ at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.
- At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he again scored a hat-trick against Britain in the semi-final, which India won by 3-1.
- At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he scored 5 goals against the Netherlands in the final match and set a new Olympic record of maximum goals scored by an individual in the men’s Hockey Final Match.
- At the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, he scored 13 goals in total, which was 69.23% of the team’s goals.
- He captained the 1956 Olympic team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. However, he got injured in the opening match against Argentina after scoring 5 goals. The rest of the group matches were captained by Randhir Singh Gentle.
- In 1971, he coached the Indian Hockey team for the World Cup.
- He was the Manager of the Indian Hockey team, which emerged victorious in the 1975 World Cup held in Kuala Lumpur.
- He also served as Chief of the Directorate of Sports in Punjab.
- Balbir wrote two books – his autobiography, “The Golden Hat Trick” (1977), and “The Golden Yardstick: In Quest of Hockey Excellence” (2008).
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