Former hockey player Balbir Singh Junior passes away at age of 88

He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Hockey India on Tuesday condoled the death of Balbir Singh Junior who played alongside legends like Balbir Singh Donsanjh, popularly known as Balbir Singh Senior, as well as Leslie Claudius, Prithipal Singh, Balkishan and Charles Stephen among other top players.

Balbir Singh Junior was part of the Indian Team that won a silver medal at the Asian Games held in Tokyo, Japan in 1958. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son.

Expressing his tribute to Balbir Singh Junior, Hockey India President Gyanendro Ningombam said, "On behalf of Hockey India, I express my deepest condolences to Balbir Singh Junior's family. His contribution to Indian hockey will always be remembered and the hockey fraternity mourns his demise." 

He lived in Chandigarh after retiring as Major in the Indian Army. Balbir Singh Junior hailed from Sansarpur (Jalandhar) known as the hockey nursery of India. Like many children from the village, he too took to hockey early in his life, at the age of six and he was selected to play for India in 1951 when the Indian Hockey Team toured Afghanistan.

The Indian player was also part of the Punjab state hockey team and also captained the Punjab University Team. Later in his career he also represented the Indian Railways Hockey team that toured European countries such as Spain, Switzerland and Italy. They also played Test matches in Netherlands.

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