Udham Singh
He played in four Olympics, won three gold and one silver
medal yet hardly anyone remembers his name! If you do recollect the name of the
hockey legend then you are a genuine hockey enthusiast.
In modern India very few hockey administrators or players
would be able to identify him or say anything substantial about him. Sport
journalists are not known to be very keen on sport history. They have little to
do with him because Udham Singh would not resort to falsehood or gimmicks for self-publicity.
Udham Singh – unparalleled in skill and stamina – is said to
have lived and died with his boots on and his hockey stick in hand. People who
followed the trail of Indian hockey after independence remember this name
because it seemed to be in every possible Indian team from the late 1940s. Wherever
India went and won gold medals, Udham Singh’s name was bound to be present.
For 15 long years,
between 1949 and 1964, he was an indispensable member of the Indian hockey team
when all-conquering India was feared by every nation in the world. No other
Indian hockey legend, not even Richard Allen (3 Olympics), Dhyan Chand (3
Olympics) and Leslie Claudius (4 Olympics) wore the Indian jersey as long as
Udham Singh did.
While sportspersons with a sole Olympic appearance develop a jaunty
gait, it is mind boggling to note that Udham actually participated in four
Olympic Games: Helsinki in 1952, Melbourne in 1956, Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in
1964. According to conscientious sport researcher K Wadhwaney, “Udham Singh
would also have been considered for the London Olympics in 1948 if he had not
broken a finger in the trials at Bombay just prior to the team selection.” That would have meant five Olympics and five
medals. Mind boggling, to say the least.
Udham took the disappointment with a shrug of his broad
shoulders. Even as a teenager he had the temperament and the maturity to
realize that life was a perpetual struggle of many ups and downs. He
concentrated on the domestic hockey scene. Next year he was in the Indian team
to play ‘friendlies’ against Afghanistan. And from thereon in 1949 the
juggernaut of Udham Singh continued…
Players who have been to just one or two Olympics are feted
with awards and funds. Even players who have not done anything worthwhile are
recipients of various national awards and influential posts. Yet this man who
has won four Olympic medals, yes four, is a forgotten name in his own country.
Udham Singh won Olympic gold medals at Helsinki in 1952, at Melbourne
in 1956 and at Tokyo in 1964. In between from Rome in 1960 he returned with
furrowed eyes and in deep frustration with the silver medal, “We all felt like
committing suicide. But then we told ourselves that we must avenge this defeat
in the next Olympic. Through hard work and honest effort, we achieved that at
Tokyo in 1964.” The ‘spirit of sport’ exemplified in the simplest of terms. That’s
the magic of Udham Singh: straight and simple.
Nimble and fleet-footed Udham Singh was exemplary with his body
feints and skilful dribble. As the left -inside in a combination of five-forwards,
he was pivot who made life easy for the strikers. His exceptional ability with
the stick held addicts spellbound. He was a master of his craft. He was the
play-maker, the architect who created openings for the legendary Balbir Singh
and other strikers to score.
He never got the publicity that many of his other deserving
peers got. He did not have the flash of glamour. He was the quiet operator who
thrived on his skills. His distribution of passes and deft placements drew
repeated applause from all around. He would do the difficult job of wriggling
through the opposition defence and then unselfishly pass to a fellow player who
was unmarked or better placed.
Born at Sansarpur in Punjab in 1928 he grew up in an
environment of hockey. Top-quality hockey players used to come from Sansarpur
and still do so. Very rightly Sansarpur is known as the nursery of Indian hockey.
Udham’s great quality was that he was a quiet learner, extremely hard-working,
very bright and a man of equable temperament. He did not believe in fixed practice
hours. He would go on and on…’till the cows came home’.
Off the field he was extremely popular with all age groups.
He had an easy charm which attracted attention.
Possessed a fantastic sense of humour. Not shy of being the butt of his
own jokes. His ever-helpful approach to life endeared him to every player who
played with or against him. ‘Udhi Paaji’
was the person to go to for any problems.
A vital member of the Indian senior teams from 1949, he was once selected by some jokers in IHF
to lead the junior Indian team to a
youth hockey festival at Warsaw in 1955! “What is a man of 27 doing with
teenagers?” asked some foreign reporter. Flashing his endearing smile, Udham
reasoned in his inimitable Punjabi
wit, “I too played with 27 year-olds when I was 19!”
Udham never led India in any official tournament. His only
scope of India captaincy was on the ‘friendly’ East Africa tour in 1959. It
appeared that he was officially the permanent vice-captain! Perennial deputy to
players even ten years his junior. Nothing seemed to bother him. Thoroughly
relaxed he would be no matter the situation, opposition and conditions. He
played in different climes all over the world earning compliments for his
wonderful skills and co-operative manner. Never once did he lose his temper on
or off the field.
In 1965 the Indian Hockey Federation and the Government of
India woke up to find that although many youngsters were given the Arjuna award
for hockey, the name of Udham Singh was missing from the list! He became an awardee
that year. But little did it matter to him. He deserved a much higher award.
How can you equate a man with 4 Olympic medals with men who have
barely won one? Unperturbed, Udhi, as he was popularly known, remained attached
to hockey by helping the youngsters of his native State, Punjab, and of his
alma mater DAV College, Jallandhar.
The magical contribution of Udham Singh continued even after
his retirement from active hockey. “From his stable,” according to Wadhwaney,”
appeared top-quality players like Ajitpal Singh, Harmeek Singh, Surjit Singh
and others.” Numerous players have credited him with guidance when they were
young as well as when they had matured. He himself, however, never claimed any
credit.
But, sad to relate,
Udham Singh’s name got relegated to the footnotes of India’s hockey history. He
died in 2000 at his favourite hometown of Sansarpur in 2000 at the age of 72.
At a time when non-medalist Olympians are being felicitated,
it is a shame that we have conveniently forgotten one of our genuine heroes.
Like Leslie Claudius, Udham Singh happens to be the only Indian hockey player
with 4 Olympic medals, three gold medals and one silver. No other Indian hockey
player has served the nation for as long as he did. No less than 15 years.
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