Sports fraternity condoles demise of hockey legend Balbir Singh

Numerous Indian sportstars expressed grief and condole the demise of hockey legend Balbir Singh, who passed away on Monday.

Hyderabad: Sports Fraternity on Monday mourned the demise of three-time Olympic champion Balbir Singh, who passed away this morning at the age of 95 after battling multiple health issues.

The veteran player suffered a cardiac arrest on May 12 and after that, he suffered two more cardiac arrests during the course of his admission in the hospital.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist was in a semi-comatose state since 18 May and had developed a blood clot in his brain after being first admitted to the hospital for bronchial pneumonia with high fever.

"Balbir Singh passed away this morning," Balbir's grandson Kabir said in a statement.

From India men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh to Indian men's cricket team captain Virat Kohli, from Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra to legendary Indian runner PT Usha, numerous Indian sportstars expressed grief and condole the demise of hockey legend Balbir Singh.

Here are some of the reactions:

Balbir Singh was a three-time Olympic gold champion. He played a key role in India's Olympic victories in London (1948), as a vice-captain in Helsinki (1952) and as the captain in Melbourne (1956).

His world record for most goals scored by an individual in the men's hockey final of the Olympics still remains unbeaten.

He had scored five goals in India's 6-1 victory over the Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Helsinki Games. He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1957

In his illustrious playing career from 1947-1958, Balbir Sr. won 61 international caps and scored a whopping 246 goals. He was also the manager of the 1975 World Cup-winning team.