Balkrishan Singh

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Olympic medal record
Men's field hockey
Gold	1956 Melbourne	Team Competition

Balkrishan Singh (March 10, 1933 – December 31, 2004) was field hockey player from India who won the gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

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The career graph of Balkrishan was, however, different in so far as he resigned from the Indian Railways even as he was in peak form and preferred to join NIS as a coach where he served for three decades. That gave the distinguishing aura to his highly successful career as a hockey player. From a historical perspective, this continuity placed him in the unique position of being a player who had been in touch with five legends -Dhyan Chand was his mentor in NIS for six years; he played alongside Claudius, Laxman and Balbir Singh; and he coached Shahid for two of the three Olympics played by him. Therefore, in studying his career one can traverse through the vicissitude of Independent India's hockey history.

He played Olympics only twice -in 1956 and 1960. But he compensated this in more than one way by becoming the only one from the elite group to coach Indian teams for four Olympics. Even Dhyan Chand did not coach any Olympic team.

Balkrishan was born in March 1933. His career could not but have been such an illustrious one as he was born in a sport-loving family and grew up in a sports-conscious city, Patiala. His father, Brigadier Dalip Singh, in the true traditions of the Indian Army, excelled in sports and was one of the greatest track and field athletes of his times. He participated in the 1924 Paris Olympics even before Indian hockey entered this global arena. He was seen in action in the next Olympics too -a remarkable achievement for someone who did not face the rigours of coaching as it existed in many other countries during the period. He secured eighth position with a jump of 21 feet 2 inches.

Balkrishan's schooling was accomplished at his hometown Patiala after which he joined the famous F.C College, Lahore, for graduation. His father being an alumnus of the great institution put him in the right track when he advised his young son, "I command respect in the college through sports. You must keep my name by way of excelling in sports".

He took the words to his heart and like his father became a grand double Olympian, albeit in a different sport, but not before proving his expertise in athletics.

When he was still under 16, he broke the Punjab University record in hop, stop and jump in 1949, and became the inter-university champion in 1950. He also broke the University high jump record. At the same time, he represented the university in hockey from 1950 to 1954. In 1954, he got the first call to join the national team. He obtained the country's colours in the International Hockey Festival at Warsaw, Poland. Around the same time, he joined the topnotch Indian Railways. That gave him enormous scope to take part and prove his worth through various tournaments. Even amidst tough competition against such established defenders of fame as Shanta Ram, Murthy and Swaroop Singh, young Balkrishan could secure a berth for himself in the 1956 Olympics team. His sparkling play in the Aga Khan Cup a year earlier paved the way for Olympic entry. At Melbourne, he played all matches except the final, giving way to Balkrishan Singh. The sight of the tall, robust player who was a picture of confidence evoked awe in the rival forwards in all the matches he played. So enamoured were the Australians by his majestic and flawless tactics that he almost emerged a cult figure in later years. Two years later, in the third Asian Games, his game was in full flow. By then he had led the Railways to the victor's podium twice, in 1957 and 1958, beating formidable Bombay in its own backyards on both occasions. His ambition of playing against Pakistan, which eluded India at Melbourne, was fulfilled here. He played the best match of his life against Pakistan. He and Bakshish Singh foiled every free-flowing attack of Pakistan forwards in the final. The match ended in a goal-less draw though Pakistan was declared winner on the basis of goal average.

With one more victory for his captaincy in the National Championship, this time over Services at Hyderabad, he became an automatic choice for the 1960 Rome Olympics. Here again, Pakistan became the champion. The two defeats shook the soul of young Balkrishan, reverberations of which he could feel even after 40 years had rolled by. For India this was a time of introspection. A manifestation of this was the emerging awareness for scientific training and the setting up of NIS. Along with hockey stars of the day, Dharsem Singh, Charanjit Singh and Charles Stephen, Balkrishan underwent one-year training in coaching in the NIS. Inspired by the personality of the chief coach Dhyan Chand, the first-batch incumbent topped the course with 93 percent marks.

He returned to Railways and led his institution to another title at Hyderabad, beating the defending champion, Services. Then came the call of his life, an offer to join the NIS faculty. It was a full-time job. He had to decide between competitive hockey and the new offer. He preferred the latter. The momentous decision was taken in a split second as he had by then developed a liking for strategy, tactics and all the mind-games that goes along with coaching. With that his seven-year affliction with international hockey came to end. Another glorious chapter that would endure for 31 years had commenced.

With Dhyan Chand at the helm, sky was the only limit for this inquisitive youngster to enlarge the horizons of his hockey knowledge. So impressed was Dhyan Chand by his abilities that, a year before he retired he wrote in his confidential report, "I have full faith in Balkrishan's ability. He is the finest young coach in the country today." That was more than adequate for the authorities to elevate him to the post that Dhyan Chand adored till then.

In the same year, 1967, the Australian government extended an invitation to him to offer expert counselling in the country. He gladly accepted the challenge and spent four and half months in Australia. During his stay, he visited every provincial capital for about a fortnight, and imparted all the knowledge he had to schoolboys and girls as also to aspiring trainers. He truly acted as the ambassador of India during that tour held under the aegis of a cultural exchange programme.

The trip was sponsored by Rothmans Sports Foundation and he was paid a honorarium of US$ 400 per week, besides all other expenses paid -a huge sum for a coach in amateur sports. More than the financial aspect, what gladdened the heart of the 34-year old Balkrishan was when the then Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Malcolm Fraser, himself an hockey enthusiast and umpire, chose to praise him. In his subsequent visit to India, he thanked his counterpart Morarji Desai, in an official banquet, for sparing the services of experts like Balkrishan to improve hockey in the country.

Balkrishan also took an All India Universities team to Australia in 1971. The team included such stars as Surjit Singh, Baldev Singh, Ajit Singh, HJS Chimni, P.E. Kalaiah and V. Baskaran. During this visit the team played eight matches with different Australian teams. They won all the matches, scoring 65 goals and conceding just six. The year 1977 saw him visiting the same country once more.

This Adelaide tour was sponsored by a Federation Government grant and his coaching spells in schools was supported by Savings Bank of S.A. and Coca-Cola. In all these tours, there was no denying the impact of his charisma -- a blend of style, intellect and a forcible personality.

It was due to the services rendered by experts like Balkrishan that the bond between the two countries grew from strength to strength. India was regularly invited for the Esanda tournaments held in Australia in the 80s and for the double-leg 4-Nations in the 90s. Women teams under Richard Charlesworth also visited India many times.

His frequent visits to this continent and other parts of the world enriched his domain of knowledge on a global scale.

He wrote about Australia's Charlesworth, a legendary hero in 80s, "Not many would be aware of the fact that in all the leading competitions in which Charlesworth played as an inside right, the Aussies lost. My conviction is that had he played as an inside left in the Fifth World Cup (Bombay), Australia may well have won the trophy. Similarly; in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and in the third PIA Champions Trophy at Karachi, Australia could have performed better if he was in the inside left saddle. I do not know if Aggis (the Aussie coach) will acquiesce with me or not, but the 'hockey doctor' hopefully will agree to my assessment." In the sixth World Cup staged at London, Charlesworth switched over to inside left position and Australia won the World Cup trophy!

India too availed of his services. Even as he was under 35, he coached the 1968 Mexico Olympic team where India won a bronze medal but it did not enthuse anybody, as the country was the defending champion then. Balkrishan could not stop wondering why in this tournament all the five goals that the great Prithipal Singh scored against New Zealand through penalty corners were disallowed.

Incidents of such nature, cataclysmic changes in the rules of the game, their haphazard interpretation by umpires and the frequency with which they were changed by the international governing body, Federation Internationale de Hockey was scrupulously studied by Balkrishan. Once he wrote, "One of my students doing his master's course in hockey wrote a thesis on penalty corner and by the time he completed the job, the rule was changed, rendering his valuable work invalid."

He wondered when games like football, which has captured the imagination of people allover the world has made only one change in rule in forty years, why were so many changes brought about in this game. Based on analytical studies and research, he proposed abolition of penalty corners and striking circle in order to make the game simple. Not many agreed with him, but it exemplified his authority on the subject.

It does not mean that he was dogmatic and against any change in rules. He welcomed the abolition of penalty bully and introduction of artificial playing surfaces. He was the first Indian coach to adopt the 4-4-2-1 style of field formation, which, according to him, was more suitable for synthetic grounds. His brainchild 'total hockey', which was often criticised by the purists for its defensive aspects, has become the guiding paradigm of present-day coaches. The way he metamorphosed the unique Indian traits in the concept of total hockey earned him many laurels in the 80s and proved his caliber, dynamism and readiness to adapt to the changing scenario.

Being a strong protagonist of individual style and brilliance, without which Indian hockey would not have attained the type of fame it did, he could bring out the best in the likes of Md. Shahid, Merwyn Fernandes and others. He once said, "Holland without Floris Bovelander and Pakistan without Shahbaz Ahmed would mean an army without a general." He believed that Individual efforts are conscious practices and are far ahead of mechanical practices which coaches dole out during coaching sessions.

The synergy between tactical acumen and individual talent that he so effectively ingrained in the concept of 'total hockey' proved fruitful for India in many of its prestigious campaigns. The significant role he played in developing Indian hockey can best be understood on studying the circumstances under which he was invited to train various Indian teams. Every time he was invited for national coaching, those were invariably distrust calls.

India's challenge in the 1980 Moscow Olympics was entrusted to him after the country faced two lows -the first in the preceding 1976 Olympics in which, for the first time, India had failed to win any medal, slipping to a record low in ranking at seventh.

The second was in the 1978 World Cup in which, despite being the defending champion, India could not move Fun time at Warsaw: beyond the fifth rank. Balkrishan Balkrishan Singh changing developed a young team that won the gold at Moscow. But he was not sought in the World Cup that followed in a year and was recalled for the next Olympics only after India fared poorly in the Bombay World Cup and in the Delhi Asian Games. He used the spell to put together a girls' team in the Asian Games and they won the title on their maiden entry.

Till today, even after five editions, that remains the only Asian gold for the Indian girls' team.

In the short span of a year, the men's team made it to the semi-finals at the Los Angeles Olympics till a new system of considering the goal aggregate to decide pool rankings led India down. India ended the campaign at fifth rank (beating Holland 5-2 in the last match). Yet he was axed. His turn came in 1991 as India dished out another dismal fare, this time at the Lahore World Cup.

In the run up to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, his team set up a tremendous record. It won all matches in annexing the title of the Sultan Azlan Cup (1991) at Kuala Lumpur. That set the stage for sponsors to pour in. In the European, tour that followed, the team had a sponsor in Chhatisgarh Distillers who awarded hefty slims for the 'Man of the Match' of all 15 tests India played.

12 wins and two draws out of the 15 matches in that tour created a great expectation, but the players' greed and indiscipline spoilt the whole show at Barcelona -- a sad end to an illustrious career. But his efforts in giving India a meaningful coaching perspective cannot be denied.

Had he ever been given a four-year tenure, the history of Indian hockey would not have been as discouraging as it was in the 70s and 80s. In the 1972 World Cup his team did not lose a single match, and lost the title only due to the penalty shoot-out.

Yet a new coach was found for the 1975 World Cup. Why was he not in the scene even after the Moscow Olympics gold is another question that would never be answered to satisfaction. If a master theoretician in the mould of Balkrishan was not hailed at par with contemporary greats such as Horst Wein, Paul Lissek, David Whitekar, Roelent Oltmans, Richard Aggis, the fault lies with the system in which he had to work and not on the want of anything in his persona.

Balkrishan coached various Indian teams within a period of about a decade in six different spells. Never was a single assignment allowed to last for more than two years. Yet, he did not lack behind in putting all possible effort in imparting the best training. During the period India won 29 matches, drew nine and lost seven in the Olympics, World Cup, Champions Trophy and the Asian Games. That four of the seven losses came in the Barcelona Olympics alone is the only dark patch in an otherwise consistent career.

That his teams faced defeat against Pakistan only twice in 14 meetings further glorifies his coaching prowess. His commentaries in the book 'World Hockey' are reflections of his scholarly erudition of the game. He also had gift of the gab. His off-the-cuff remark, "Umpires are like watches, they never match" is an oft quoted phrase.