Balbir Singh Kullar Explained

Balbir Singh Kullar
Nationality:India
Birth Date:8 August 1942[1]
Death Date: (age 77)[2]
Birth Place:Sansarpur, Punjab Province, British India (present-day Sansarpur, Punjab, India)
Death Place:Sansarpur, Punjab, India
Alma Mater:DAV College, Jalandhar
Employer:Punjab Police (retired as DIG in 2001)
Sport:Field hockey
Event:Men's team
Team:India (International)
Railways (National)
Punjab State (National)
Punjab Police (National)
All India Police (National)
Medaltemplates: [3]
Show-Medals:yes
Updated:9 June 2012

Sardar Balbir Singh Kullar (8 August 1942 – 28 February 2020) was an Indian field hockey 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. 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 and Punjab Police. For a brief time, he also played for the little-known hockey team of Mohun Bagan. 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 Lyons 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 officer in 1987. He retired as a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) in February 2001.[4]

He died at his home in Sansarpur at the age of 77.

Awards

Notes and References

  1. Balbir Singh . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418115928/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/si/balbir-singh-1.html . 2020-04-18.
  2. News: Former India Hockey Player Balbir Singh Kullar Dies At 77 . Ndtvsports.com.
  3. Web site: Olympic Bronze Medalist Balbir Singh Kullar Passes Away. YouTube.
  4. http://www.hockeyindia.org/dig_balbir_singh_kullar.html Profile of Balbir Singh Khullar at Hockey India
  5. Web site: Padma awards for Abhinav, Dhoni . indianexpress.com. 26 January 2009 .
  6. https://web.archive.org/web/20121016214650/http://hindu.com/2000/08/30/stories/07300964.htm Arjuna, Dronacharya Awards presented