Balbir Singh, one of the greatest hockey players, died in Mohali at the age of 96 on Monday morning. He was admitted to the Fortis Hospital from the last two weeks and breathed last at half-past six in the morning. Hockey India expressed grief over the demise of former Olympian Balbir Singh. He was admitted to the hospital on 8 May after complaining of pneumonia and high fever. During treatment, he got a heart attack for the third time. He was in a coma since May 18 due to a blood clot in his brain. Balbir Singh scored 5 goals against the Netherlands in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics final. His record of scoring the most goals in an Olympic final is still maintained and India won that match by 6–1.

Balbir Singh was a three-time Olympic gold medalist. He was part of the Indian team that won gold in the Olympics in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956). He was named among the 16 greatest players in modern Olympic history by the International Olympic Committee. He was the only player in the country to be included in this list. This former Olympian was awarded the Padma Shri in 1957. He was the first player to receive this honor. He was the manager of the Indian team that won the only Hockey World Cup in 1975. Singh had scored 246 goals in 61 matches for India. He led the Indian contingent at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Under his captaincy, the Indian hockey team beat Pakistan 1–0 in the final to win gold for the third consecutive time.

Akshay Kumar also expressed grief

Akshay Kumar has shared a photo of himself with the player on Twitter and described him as a man of amazing personality. Akshay wrote in the caption, “Sad to hear about the passing of hockey legend Balbir Singh Ji. I had the privilege of meeting him some time back. Such a wonderful personality! My heartfelt condolence to his family.”