India's World Cup-winning captain mourns the death of 'national hero' Balbir Singh

Dubai - "It's a very sad news. It's a big loss for Indian hockey," Ajit Pal, the captain of the Indian squad that won the 1975 World Cup with Balbir Singh as the team manager, told Khaleej Times on Monday.

Dhyan Chand's bewitching stick work created such a mystique that you could be forgiven for overlooking some other Indian hockey legends.
And one such legendary player was Balbir Singh who passed away at the age of 96 after prolonged illness in Chandigarh on Monday.
If Dhyan Chand's wizardry brought three Olympic gold medals to India in the pre-partition era, even earning him an admirer in Adolf Hitler during the 1936 Berlin Games, then it was Singh's talent, exemplary leadership and eye for the goal that helped Indian hockey continue its dream run at the world's greatest sporting event.
Having played a key role in India's first Olympic triumph after independence at the 1948 London Games, Singh was the vice-captain of the team that won the gold again four years later in Helsinki.
It was at the 1952 Games that Singh was at his magical best, scoring five goals in an emphatic 6-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final - a record for most goals by a player in an Olympic final that has stood the test of time.
The classical centre-forward then led India to their third straight post-partition Olympic triumph at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
Singh's Summer Games heroics even earned him a place at the Olympic Museum exhibition during the 2012 London Games in London - the place where his dream journey started in 1948 - as he was chosen as one of the 16 iconic Olympians.
While his death has sparked an outpouring of emotional tributes with even the country's Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing his grief on Twitter, no one perhaps has felt the pain more than Ajit Pal Singh.
"It's a very sad news. It's a big loss for Indian hockey," Ajit Pal, the captain of the Indian squad that won the 1975 World Cup with Balbir Singh as the team manager, told Khaleej Times on Monday.
"We have lost a great player today. He was one of the tallest hockey pillars. I have been really saddened by the news. I really don't know how to express my feelings right now."
Ajit Pal admitted that India would not have won the 1975 World Cup without the inspiration from Balbir Singh.
"He was the manager of the team and I was the captain. He was a great motivator. It was his guidance that inspired us and gave us the strength in tough moments," said Ajit Pal whose team suffered a shock defeat to Argentina in the group stage before beating Malaysia in the semifinal and bitter rivals Pakistan in the final.
And Singh's contribution to Indian hockey as a player, according to Ajit Pal, was as important as Dhyand Chand's.
"He won three Olympic gold medals. He was a prolific goal scorer, so it was natural for those who know hockey to compare him to Dhyan Chand," Ajit Pal said.
"They won three gold medals each, both were the stars of their respective teams. Both top scored in the Olympics. While Dhyan Chand inspired Indian Olympic triumphs before partition, Balbir Singh steered India to glory in the first three Olympic Games after 1947. Both of them are India's national heroes."
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com