Remembering a gentle and formidable giant

Warm and friendly off the field, Balbir was a serial winner on it

Back in 2009, this reporter took the first steps into a virtual museum of hockey brilliance from a time when India was the unquestioned ruler on the turf. The trophies, pictures and memorabilia, though, were dwarfed by the aura of the man in their midst — Balbir Singh Senior.

He was a stick wizard, but it was the warmth of his persona that drew people. Balbir Singh had already made a lasting impression on someone learning the ropes years earlier, during his several visits to Delhi, his aura felt every time he smiled and enquired, “How are you, beta?”

That smile and warmth were always available for anyone who wanted to seek his guidance or simply have a chat on hockey. Especially the days of 1948, when a former colony overwhelmed and outplayed its former masters on their soil.

“With every raise of the Tricolour at the Old Wembley that day, the heart beat a little faster, the pride rose a notch higher, the eyes became moister. It wasn’t just a medal — it was India claiming its place on the world stage. And it had chosen us as a means to do that. What honour! That feeling can only be experienced, never expressed,” Balbir Singh told this reporter. The Tricolour mounted on the wall in his living room was a testimony to what that victory meant.

No one wins alone

“The team won. Hockey is a team game. No one wins alone,” was his firm belief. At a rare public display of Dhyan Chand’s stick used in the 8-1 demolition of Germany in the 1936 Olympic final, during the Punjab Gold Cup in 2009, Balbir Singh held it and said, “What bigger honour can there be for any hockey player”. His own stature never got in the way.

His record is impeccable — India has never returned without a medal from a tournament that had Balbir Singh as player, coach or manager.

For someone so proud, India missing out on the 2008 Olympics was a catastrophe. He didn’t eat or sleep properly for days. In some ways, it broke him from within. He was also broken by the disregard for history from SAI, which borrowed his medals and memorabilia but lost them.

The last time this reporter met him, Balbir Singh had become frail. But the mind was as sharp as ever. “Excellence is not an art, it is a habit. We have to do what we do best, not copy anyone. We did that when we played, never blamed conditions. Hard work can make anything possible,” he said. But it was all said with a smile — as ever, there was no trace of rancour.