Sukhwant Singh

After 1948, the Olympics were back in London in 2012. The following was posted on 14 July 2012 by Kay Singh on her Twitter account. Here it is again. As a soldier my salutations on his contribution to our Nation. Read the Tribute below, and you will know what message the movie Gold sends out to all of us. A Tribute to Kishan Lal Renowned hockey player Kishan Lal who led Independent India’s first Hockey team to the London Olympics in 1948 when once questioned in his later years on his Teams great achievement had said that, “The key to any Teams achievements lies in it’s collective thinking, a united and a determined mind, whenever we were out on the field we were like soldiers". India mattered more than ourselves. We had seen and heard of much sacrifices around us for the sake of Independence. Our sole aim was upholding that glory. The most cherishable moment of my life is not receiving the gold medal but the pride that I felt watching the National Flag flying and hearing the National Anthem at the London Olympics so soon after Independence. It was like sealing our capabilities before the World! After stepping down from competitive hockey it was this National spirit that made him serve the country further by coaching and passing on his skill to the younger generations. He served as Coach for the Indian Railways for several years. During his tenure, he scouted the country all over for players, held camps, coached them, and did the Railways proud by giving them the finest of Teams and a stepping-stone to Team India. He was always a help to the poor. In his spare time he arranged special matches for children and gave away some of his own cups as prizes to encourage young ones to play hockey. He passed away on 22nd of June 1980 at Madras while a guest at the Murruguppa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament. His sudden death came as a rude shock to his fans and to various top officials and sportspersons. His death witnessed some very touching and moving acts and sentiments. Mr. K.R Subramaniam the Secretary of the Murruguppa Tournament himself flew with and accompanied his body to Bombay. According to him Kishan Lal was the most respected sportsman in the country. RS Gentle who was part of his team at the London Olympics said he was the greatest Right-winger he had ever seen and a Coach of outstanding merit. Olympian Gurbux Singh said Railways had been orphaned. Hockey Player Joe Antic said “there will not be another” MAM Ramaswamy, president of the IHF said he was one of the finest gentlemen he had come across, his death is a great loss to Indian Hockey particularly as a coach, he produced good players for the Railways. The East Bengal Club in their condolence letter wrote” Late Kishan Lal was a glory to Indian Hockey. His contribution will be remembered for all times to come. His devotion and love for Indian Hockey are rare examples. The Bengal Hockey Association called him –one of the greatest Hockey players of India” Such footprints need to be preserved, for they are rare, exemplary and invaluable, they are pathfinders for all seekers! Courtesy – family and friends