Harbinder Singh is an Indian former hockey player. He was part of the gold medal-winning Indian hockey team at the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics. In January 2024, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian hockey.
Wiki/Biography
Harbinder Singh (also known as Harbinder Singh Chimni) was born on Thursday, July 8, 1943, in Quetta, Pakistan (age 80 in 2023). After the partition of India in 1947, he moved to India with his parents. His zodiac sign is Cancer.
An old photo of Harbinder Singh
He studied at Khalsa College in Amritsar, Punjab. He served on the Northern Railway.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: gray
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
There is not much information about his parents. His brother Harjinder Singh Chimni is also a former kabaddi player.
wife and children
There is not much information about his marital status.
Profession
intercollegiate championship
In 1961, he represented Punjab in the Inter-College Hockey Championship. In the same year, he participated in the National Hockey Championship held in Hyderabad. In 1962, he also participated in the National Hockey Championship held in Bhopal.
Olympic Games
In a 12-year career, he represented the Indian hockey team in the Olympics three times. He was a member of the Indian hockey team that participated in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He made 5 of 9 shots, the highest number of shots in the game, and helped the team defeat Pakistan in the final to win the gold medal.
Harbinder Singh (second from right) during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo
At the 1968 World Cup in Mexico, he won the bronze medal with 6 of 11 goals, including a hat trick against Mexico. With his outstanding performance in the Olympics, he was also selected as the center of the “World Eleven”. He again helped the Indian hockey team win a bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.
Asian Games
Harbinder Singh represented the Indian hockey team in the Asian Games twice as a player in 1966 and 1970 and once as the head coach in 1986. In 1966, he helped the Indian hockey team win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Bangkok. He captained the Indian hockey team at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok and won a silver medal. In 1986 in Seoul, he served as the head coach of the Indian women’s hockey team, which won a bronze medal at the 10th Asian Games.
International and national hockey championships
In 1963, Singh led the Indian hockey team to a gold medal at the International Hockey Championship in Lyon, France. In 1966, he represented India in the International Hockey Championship held in Hamburg, Germany. In this tournament, he scored 4 goals in 8 shots and won the gold medal for the team. The following year, he won a bronze medal at the Pre-Olympic Hockey Championships in London. From 1961 to 1972, he participated in many national hockey championships, representing Punjab and Indian Railways, winning 8 gold medals and 2 silver medals. He also served as the coach of the Indian Railways Hockey Team from 1975 to 1993, during which time he helped the team win 8 gold medals and 4 silver medals in various championships.
1975 World Cup Champion Indian Hockey Team
track and field championships
In addition to hockey, he competed in several track and field championships. Harbinder Singh represented the Punjab University team in the 1959 inter-varsity athletics meet in Kanpur. In the same year, he represented Punjab at the National Athletics Championships in Thiruvananthapuram. At the championships, he won the junior gold medal in the 4x100m relay. In 1967, he represented the Indian Railways in the All India Athletics Open held in Sangrur and won the gold medal in the 4x100m relay.
Awards
- Railway Minister’s Award 1966
- 1972 Ministry of Railways Best Athlete Award
- Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 and Cash Prize of Rs 30 Lakhs and Trophy
Harbinder Singh (right) receives Lifetime Achievement Award from Kiren Rijiju
- Won the Padma Shri Award in January 2024
medal
- 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics gold medal
- 1968 Mexico Summer Olympics bronze medal
- Bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany
- 1966 Bangkok Asian Games gold medal
- 1970 Bangkok Asian Games Silver Medal
- 1986 Seoul Asian Games Bronze Medal
Note: During his career, he won 36 gold medals, 8 silver medals and 4 bronze medals in various national and international competitions.
Facts/Trivia
- He has had a strong passion for sports since he was a child. He competed in many hockey and athletics championships during school and college. He represented Cantonment Board High School in Jalandhar district in the football championship.
- Harbinder Singh started playing international matches for the Indian hockey team in 1961, when he was just 18 years old. During this time he toured New Zealand and Australia as part of a team.
- He served as a member of the Hockey Federation of India’s youth selection committee for eight years (1980 to 1984 and 1994 to 1998). He was also a member of the Women’s Hockey Federation’s junior and senior player selection committees from 2004 to 2009.
- He is also a member of several other committees such as Hockey India High Performance and Development Committee, Hockey India Disciplinary Committee and Hockey India Ethics Committee.
- He also served as the Chairman of the Indian Hockey Masters Committee.
- After winning the Padma Shri award in January 2024, he received congratulations from the Hockey Federation of India. Hockey India Secretary General Bora Nath Singh expressed his gratitude in an interview, saying:
On behalf of Hockey India, I congratulate Harbinder Singh. He will always be considered one of India’s finest centre-forwards, who scored goals at will and won many honors for the country. The fact that he continues to serve the sport to this day, always willing to be involved in any capacity, is very inspiring. “
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education