Balraj Singh Panesar (born March 16, 1996) is a Canadian

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

player who plays as a defender or midfielder for the English Premier Club Beeston HC and the Canadian national team.

Early life

Panesar was born on March 16, 1996 in Surrey,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He was introduced to the sport by his father; his elder brother

Sukhi Panesar Sukhpal Singh Panesar (born December 26, 1993) is a Canadian field hockey player who plays as a midfielder for English club Beeston and the Canadian national team. International career He played for the Canada national field hockey team at th ...

has also represented Canada in field hockey.

Club career

Panesar played for the

UBC Thunderbirds The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thu ...

and United Brothers in Canada before moving to England. He joined Beeston HC

International career

Panesar made his national senior team debut in 2014. The same year, he was part of the Canadian team that won the silver medal at the

Youth Olympics The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) is an international multi-sport event for athletes between 15 and 18 years old, organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consisten ...

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

, China. He captained the Canadian team at the

2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup The 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup was the 11th edition of the Hockey Junior World Cup for men, an international field hockey tournament. It was held in Lucknow, India from 8–18 December 2016. A total of sixteen teams competed for the titl ...

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...

, India. He was part of the national team that clinched silver at the 2017 Men's Pan American Cup in Lancaster, United States. He was selected for the

2018 World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

, where he played all four games. In June 2019, he was selected in the Canada squad for the

2019 Pan American Games ; ay, Taqinipuniw anatt’apxtanxa'' , nations participating = 41 , athletes participating = 6,680 , events = 419 in 38 sports , opening ceremony = July 26 , closing ceremony = August 11 , officially opened by = Martín Vizcarra , to ...

. They won the silver medal as they lost 5–2 to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the final.

References

External links

* * * * * * * 1996 births Living people Canadian male field hockey players Sportspeople from Surrey, British Columbia Canadian sportspeople of Indian descent Canadian people of Punjabi descent Male field hockey defenders Male field hockey midfielders Field hockey players at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Field hockey players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup players Field hockey players at the 2019 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in field hockey UBC Thunderbirds players Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Youth Olympic silver medalists for Canada East Grinstead Hockey Club players Men's England Hockey League players 21st-century Canadian people Field hockey players at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada {{Canada-fieldhockey-bio-stub