Harbinder Singh (Hockey Player)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Harbinder Singh

• Harbinder Singh is an Indian former field hockey player. He is known for being a part of the Indian Hockey team that won a gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, held in Tokyo.

• He was born in Quetta, Pakistan, but relocated to India with his family following the 1947 partition of India.

• Since childhood, he was passionate about sports. He started participating in various sports such as as hockey, athletics, and football while studying in school. He played for Cantonment Board High School, Jalandhar in a football tournament.

  

• In 1959, he took part in the Inter-University Athletics Meet in Kanpur, where he represented Panjab University.

• He competed in the 4x100M Relay Race in the junior category at the National Athletics Championships 1959 in Trivandrum, where he represented Punjab State.

• He played for the team of Punjab state at the Inter-University Hockey Tournament 1961.

• In 1961, he took part in the National Hockey Championship, held in Hyderabad.

• The following year, he competed in the National Hockey Championship in Bhopal.

• At the age of 18, Harbinder Singh started representing India in the International Hockey Championships. In 1961, he went on the New Zealand and Australian tour as part of the Indian Hockey team.

  

• In 1963, he participated in an International Hockey tournament in Lyon, France, where the Hockey team of India won a gold medal.

• During his career span, he played for the Indian Hockey team in three Olympic games i.e., Tokyo 1964, Mexico 1968, and Munich 1972.

• In the final of field hockey in the Tokyo 1964 Summer Olympics, he scored the highest number of goals (5 out of 9 goals), which led India to win a gold medal by beating Pakistan.

  

• Singh was a part of the Indian Hockey team that won a gold medal in 1966 at the Asian Games in Bangkok.

• In the same year, he scored 4 out of 8 goals in an International Hockey tournament in Hamburg, Germany.

• He took part in the 4x100M Relay Race at the All India Open Athletics Championships 1967 in Sangrur, where he represented the team of Indian Railways. He managed to earn a gold medal in the championship.

• In 1967, he represented India in the Pre-Olympic Hockey Tournament in London, where the Indian Hockey team managed to win a bronze medal.

• He contributed to the Indian Men’s Hockey Team winning a bronze medal by scoring 6 out of 11 goals, including a hat-trick against Mexico in the 1968 Summer Olympics, held in Mexico. His remarkable performance in the Olympics secured him a position on the “World XI” as a centre forward.

• He became the captain of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok and led his team to win a silver medal.

• In the Munich 1972 Summer Olympics, he helped the Indian Men’s Hockey team to win a bronze medal.

• Harbinder Singh represented the Punjab State and Indian Railways teams in various National Hockey Championships from 1961 to 1972, securing 8 gold and 2 silver medals.

• He was the chief coach for the Indian Women’s hockey team during the 10th Asian Games in Seoul in 1986. Under his leadership the team secured a bronze medal in the championship.

• During his tenure as a coach from 1975 to 1993, the Indian Railways Hockey Team secured 8 gold and 4 silver medals in several championships.

  

• He remained associated with the Selection Committee of the Indian Hockey Federation for juniors as a member for eight years (from 1980 to 1984 and 1994 to 1998).

• He served as a member of the Selection Committee for both junior and senior players in the Women’s Hockey Federation for five years, from 2004 to 2009.

• The former player has also served as a member of various other committees, including the Hockey India High Performance & Development Committee, the Hockey India Disciplinary Committee, and the Hockey India Ethics Committee.

• In addition, he has been a chairman of the Hockey India Masters Committee.

• He has also worked for the Northern Railways.

• He received accolades from Hockey India upon receiving the Padma Shri Award in January 2024. In an interview, Bhola Nath Singh, the organization’s Secretary General, showed his gratitude and remarked,
  

  On behalf of Hockey India, I congratulate Harbinder Singh. He will forever be known as one of India’s finest centre forwards who scored at will and won many accolades for the country. He continues to serve the sport even to this day, always willing to be involved in whatever capacity it may be and that is very inspiring.”