Badal recommends name of legendary hockey star Balbir Singh (senior) for Bharat Ratna

Chandigarh, September 19, 2014: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today recommended the name of Balbir Singh (Senior) - the country’s greatest sporting icon ever in history for the nation’s highest honour, the Bharat Ratna to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.  
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Badal apprised him that Balbir Singh (Senior), a legendary hockey star and the only Indian to have been chosen by the International Olympic Association for the rate honour of featuring as one of the 16 greatest sportspersons of all times in the world since the start of the Olympic games.  Apart from being a rare Triple Olympic Gold Medalist, to Balbir Singh belongs the rarest of rare honours of being the only player in the world to score five goals in an Olympic final of any team sport. This unique record, which features in the Guinness Book of World Records, has stood unchallenged by anyone in any sport since Balbir Singh created it over 62 years ago - in 1952.
Badal further mentioned that as if that was not enough, S Balbir Singh led the Indian hockey team to its third successive Olympic gold, featuring in all three as a player also – 1948, 1952 and 1956.  He informed Modi that even after his playing days were over, Balbir Singh continued to render outstanding services for the glory of the nation, steering India as Team Manager to the country’s only World Cup triumph - at Kuala Lumpur in 1975. Balbir Singh has rendered outstanding services to the nation and to sports in many other capacities after this too, leading a revival of hockey in the country as an administrator, manager, coach and author.  
“Balbir Singh shines as a rare and most outstanding legend in his lifetime, and no other sportsperson in the country or for that matter from any other country has ever scaled the heights of Olympic glory as he has done”, said Badal.
The Chief Minister reiterated his request to consider Balbir Singh (Sr) for the highest honour of the nation, the Bharat Ratna.
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