Sardar Balbir Singh Kullar (8 August 1942 – 28 February 2020) was 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 and a Punjab Police officer. Alternative spellings of his last name include Khullar. 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 ...

. He was the captain of the All India Schools during 1957–1960, and also played as part of the Combined University Team. At the national-level, he represented the hockey teams of Punjab State,

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

and Punjab Police. For a brief time, he also played for the little-known hockey team of

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regim ...

. Balbir Singh joined the Punjab Armed Police in 1962, and became an Assistant Sub-Inspector of the Punjab Police in 1963. As part of the Indian national men's hockey team, he played his first international game in 1963 at

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

s in France. He gained reputation as an inside forward in the Indian team, and toured Belgium, East Africa, East Germany, England, the Netherlands, Italy, Kenya, New Zealand and West Germany. He was a member of the Indian team that won the Olympic Gold in 1964 (Tokyo), Asian Games Gold in 1966 (Bangkok) and the Olympic Bronze in 1968 (Mexico). During 1968–1975, Balbir Singh was a part of the All India Police team, and also served as its captain for some time. He became the Deputy Superintendent of Police in 1981, became an

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service ( IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became independent from the British Raj. Along with the Indian Administrative Service ( ...

officer in 1987. He retired as a

Deputy Inspector General A Deputy Inspector General of Police (abbreviated as DIG) is a high-ranking official position in Police in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. India Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) is a ...

(DIG) in February 2001. He died at his home in Sansarpur at the age of 77.

Awards

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

(2009) *

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

(1999)Arjuna, Dronacharya Awards presented
The Hindu, 30 August 2000.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kullar, Balbir Singh 1942 births 2020 deaths Olympic gold medalists for India Olympic field hockey players for India Olympic medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Indian male field hockey players Indian police officers Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports People from Jalandhar district Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1966 Asian Games Field hockey players from Jalandhar Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for India Olympic bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games