Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 12
Triple Olympian and hockey legend Balbir Singh (Senior), who is 95 years old, suffered a cardiac arrest this morning. He is stated to be in a critical state at a private hospital in Mohali though there was some improvement in his condition. He was admitted to the hospital on May 8.
In a statement on the social media, his grandson said: “He was admitted on Friday in a very serious ‘multi-organ affected’ state. His condition has improved slightly, but is still critical. Doctors will continuously assess his condition over the next 24-48 hours before issuing any further statement. He continues to be on a ventilator.”
He was part of the Indian teams that won the gold at the 1948 London Olympics in 1948, Helsinki in 1952 and Melbourne in 1956. His record of most individual goals scored in an Olympic men’s hockey final remains unbeaten. Balbir had set this record when he scored five goals in India’s 6-1 win over the Netherlands in the gold medal match of the 1952 Games. He also remained the head coach of the Indian team for the 1975 men’s World Cup, which India won, and the 1971 men’s World Cup, where India bagged a bronze medal. In July 2019, Balbir was admitted to the PGI following breathing problems.
Till the filing of this report, his condition was stated to be critical.
