Udham Singh, Indian Hockey Player’s 91st Birth Anniversary: Facts and Achievements of Three-Time Olympic Gold Medallist
Indian hockey has a rich past, but after winning a Gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the performance has dipped manifolds, and there’s no turning back. However, given the current performances and how the setup has revamped, the Indian team has managed to be on the fifth spot in the team rankings.
If anyone looks back at the history of Indian Hockey, the immediate reaction would be scratching their head, and wondering what went wrong, and where! Can you imagine a team being unbeaten in the Olympics for over 30 years, i.e. six editions? Well, India was. A lot can be found when one dives deep in the rich (read: golden) history of Indian Hockey. And one player who contributed significantly in India’s golden era was, Udham Singh.
As people across the globe celebrate Friendship Day on August 4 this year, the date will also mark the 91st birth anniversary of the legendary Indian hockey player, Udham Singh. Not many people known the legend, as today is his birth anniversary, we bring you some of the lesser-known facts about Udham Singh.
1. Udham Singh was born on August 4, 1928, at Sansarpur in a village in Jallandhar Cantonment of Punjab.
2. Udham Singh was a fine player of hockey since his early days, and was also appointed as the captain of his college team in 1947.
3. Udham Singh has also played for Punjab Police – one of the best in those times – for a period of nearly two decades.
4. Given his contribution for the team and how fine he played, Udham Singh was promoted as the captain of Punjab state team in 1954.
5. Not many know that Udham Singh might have made a debut in 1948 Summer Olympics, but a freak finger injury ruled him out, which saw him make his Olympics debut in 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Japan.
6. Udham Singh went on to win three Gold medals (in 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1964 Tokyo), and a Silver medal (in 1960 Rome) in Olympics history.
7. Udham Singh, like Leslie Claudius, is the only player in hockey’s history to win 3 Golds, and a Silver medal in the history of the game.
8. Udham Singh’s accolades didn’t end there. He went on to become the coach of the Indian hockey team, which later won a Bronze medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, and Silver medal at 1970 Bangkok Asian Games.
9. To reward his rich contribution in the field of hockey, Udham Singh was accorded the honour of Arjuna Award in 1965.
Indian hockey has a rich past, but after winning a Gold medal in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the performance has dipped manifolds, and there’s no turning back. However, given the current performances and how the setup has revamped, the Indian team has managed to be on the fifth spot in the team rankings. As people celebrate Friendship Day all over the world, we pay rich tributes to the legendary hockey player – Udham Singh – who helped Indian team scale heights during its golden period.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2019 01:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).