Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Balbir Singh Kular, VSM (born 5 April 1945) is an Indian

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 (half-back). He is also known as Balbir Singh Kullar/Khullar, or simply as Balbir Singh. Balbir Singh was born in the Sansarpur village of the

Jalandhar district Jalandhar district is a district in Doaba region of the state of Punjab, India. District headquarters is Jalandhar city. Before the Partition of India, Jalandhar was also the headquarters of the Jalandhar Division, with constituent districts J ...

, and later settled in the

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

city. As part of the Indian Universities Hockey Team, he played in Afghanistan in 1962. In 1964, he represented the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

state in the National Hockey Championship at Delhi. In 1965, Balbir Singh joined the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

and later, rose to the rank of

. 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. 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 Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

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.

Awards and recognition

Vishisht Seva Medal The Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) is a decoration of the Indian Armed Forces. It is awarded to recognize "distinguished service of a high order" to all ranks of the Indian Armed Forces. From 1980, the Yudh Seva Medal was introduced to recognize exc ...

* Arjuna Award (1968); as "Cadet Balbir Singh" * Chief of Army Staff Commendation Card * Lifetime Achievement award (1999) Balbir Singh was one of the four players to be featured on the special commemorative stamp released on 31 December 1966 by

India Post India Post is a government-operated postal system in India, part of the Department of Post under the Ministry of Communications. Generally known as the Post Office, it is the most widely distributed postal system in the world. Warren Hastings ...

, 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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kular, Balbir Singh 1945 births Living people Field hockey players from Jalandhar Olympic bronze medalists for India Olympic field hockey players of India Olympic medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Indian male field hockey players Indian Army officers Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1966 Asian Games Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games