Gurbux ("Gurbakhsh") Singh Grewal (born 11 February 1936) is a former 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 who was a member of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, the bronze medal at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and the gold medal at the 1966 Asian Games. He was the joint captain of the Indian team at the 1968 Summer Olympics. He was also the coach of the Indian team at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 P ...

. For his outstanding contribution to the country in the field of sports, Gurbux received the Arjuna Award in 1966.

Early life

Gurbux Singh was born at

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

but grew up in Rawalpindi. After the partition of India, the family first moved to

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 ...

, then to

Mhow Mhow, officially Dr. Ambedkar Nagar, is a town in the Indore district in Madhya Pradesh state of India. It is located south-west of Indore city, towards Mumbai on the old Mumbai-Agra Road. The town was renamed as ''Dr. Ambedkar Nagar'' in 20 ...

and finally to

Meerut Meerut (, IAST: ''Meraṭh'') is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city lies northeast of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and west of the state capital ...

from where he did his graduation. He moved to Calcutta in 1957, a city which ultimately became his permanent home and shaped his sports career. Gurbux initially tried his hand at

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

but then started playing hockey for his school in Lucknow. His brother was the Indian hockey international

Balbir Singh Grewal Balbir Singh Grewal (born 21 September 1945), also known as Balbir Singh (Railways), is a retired Indian field hockey player. He played for Railways in the Indian Senior National Hockey Championship. He was part of the Indian teams that won t ...

. Gurbux started hockey at the age of 16. He represented

Agra University Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University, formerly Agra University, is an Autonomous University located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. The university is named after Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian scholar, social reformer, and the architect of the Indian Cons ...

in 1954–55 and a year later won the Obaidullah Gold Cup Hockey Championship. Gurbux Singh first played for

East Bengal Club East Bengal Club, commonly referred to as East Bengal (), is an Indian professional multi-sport club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. It is best known for its professional men's football team that competes in the Indian Super League, the top fl ...

in 1957, and was influential in their first victory at the

Beighton Cup Beighton Cup is a field hockey tournament organized by Hockey Bengal (formerly the Bengal Hockey Association). Instituted in 1895, it is one of the oldest field hockey tournaments in the world and is held every year at Kolkata. History Aristocr ...

that year. He later represented Calcutta Customs Club from 1957 to 1965, followed by

Mohun Bagan Athletic Club 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 Regiment ...

from 1968 to 1980. He had a distinguished career in domestic hockey.

International Hockey career

A skilled full-back player, Gurbux Singh made his international debut in a tour of Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1960, and also participated in the International Hockey Tournament in 1962. By 1963 he was captain, and led the team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games. He also led India on tours of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Japan in 1966, Sri Lanka in 1967 and the Pre-Olympic tournament in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1967. In the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, he shared the captaincy with

Prithipal Singh Prithipal Singh (28 January 1932 – 20 May 1983) was an Indian field hockey player who played as a halfback. He was a member of the India national team that won a gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and silver and bronze at the 1960 Rome ...

, where India won the bronze medal. He is considered to be one of the greatest Indian hockey players of all time. After retiring from internationals in 1968, Gurbux Singh took to coaching and umpiring. He coached

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1974–75 and India during the 1976 Montreal Olympics. A national selector in 1973 and again from 1980 to 1985, he was the manager of the Indian team to the 1973 World Cup and the 1983 Champions Trophy. Gurbux Singh was conferred with the Arjuna Award after the Indian team's victory at the 1966 Asian Games. In 2013, he received the Banga Bibhushan, a title instituted by the West Bengal government to honour distinguished achievements in various fields. In 2018, he was awarded Bharat Gaurav by

. He is known for having served Indian hockey for over 50 years in various capacities, and is credited for doing much to better the state of Indian hockey.

References

External links

* * *
Sikh Hockey Olympics: Gurbux Singh

BHA facilitates Gurbux Singh
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Gurbux 1936 births Living people Indian male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for India Olympic gold medalists for India Olympic bronze medalists for India Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1964 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1966 Asian Games Recipients of the Arjuna Award Field hockey players from Kolkata Punjabi people Field hockey players from Peshawar Field hockey players from Rawalpindi Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 1966 Asian Games

Early life

International Hockey career

See also

References

External links