Balkrishan Singh, the Johan Cruyff of Field Hockey

Singh is the only Indian field hockey player to win Olympic gold as a player (1956) and a coach (1980).

Where do I begin when I hear the modern-day famed social media mindsets talk about every match they see as the best a particular player has ever played? Where should I escape when a consolation fourth place is celebrated more than many teams have celebrated their gold medal? Between Moscow 1980 to Seoul 1988 and between Atlanta 1996 to the heartbreak of Sydney 2000 and beyond, we have seen and experienced everything. By ‘we,’ I refer to every orthodox hockey fan that grew old by watching magicians weave their godly magic on grass.

Today when it comes to Indian hockey and coaches, you see many talking about Graham Reid, Sjoerd Marijne, and Roelant Oltmans. A crystal jubilee (15 years) ago, the talk would be about Joaquim Carvalho, Cedric D’Souza, Maharaj Krishnan Kaushik, Vasudevan Baskaran, etc. And a vicennium (20 years) ago, the talk would be about R Sreedhar Shenoy, Balbir Singh Sr and Jaman Lal Sharma, etc.

Singh

But where in the annals and antiquities of field hockey do we hold Balkrishan Singh?

When a kid in my locality asked me who Balkrishan Singh is, I passed out. I frequently empathize with this thought with at least 3/4 generations before me and continue to experience their emotions in tiny bits – with a sad reality. Many a time, I would just stand on my balcony and gaze at the vast emptiness up there in the sky or would just sit in my chair with a hot cup and watch it cryopreserved into solidity.

Why did we forget a man of his caliber so soon? Why did we fail to recognize and celebrate the life of a man who introduced “total hockey” into the national sport of India and Pakistan?

Before I talk about “total hockey,” I will honor myself by writing about a man who believed the same in ‘football’ – Johan Cruyff. He was a game changer, and he is an influence that will live long beyond the expiry of this earth. “Total Football,” in short, is a tactical system that allows any outfield player to take over the role of any other player in the team.

Cruijff always said, “Every trainer talks about movement, about running a lot. I say don’t run so much. Football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.” He listed down fourteen rules that included tiny explanations for a team player, responsibility, respect, integrity, initiative, coaching, personality, social involvement, technique, tactics, development, learning, play together, and creativity.

I am blessed and honored, to say the least, I share my birthday with this icon of a character.

You may wonder if I am forcing myself into negativity by writing how great Cruijff was and how badly I wanted recognition for Singh Saab. No, I am not like that. But yes, the meteoric rise of finances, marketability, and attractability of cricket and its shortest format has made an Indian society ignore its legions and legends and demi-gods of India’s national game. Today, Indians have cricket to boast about and travel. But it was field hockey and the tireless efforts of touchless magicians that brought India unerasable Olympic glory.

Balkrishan Singh is probably the only player from India who won Olympic gold medals as a player and a coach – Melbourne, 1956 and Moscow, 1980. He was the first hockey teacher to implement ‘total hockey’ in India – Barcelona, 1992. According to him, hockey players should attack and defend together like basketball.

He comes from a very respectful family. His father, Brigadier Dalip Singh, has the credit of being the first Sikh to represent India in the Olympics. A track and field athlete who represented India in Paris in 1924 and Amsterdam in 1928 in himself, Dalip Singh was the first Indian torch-bearer at the Delhi Asian Games in 1951. Brigadier Saab was also a very fine hockey player. He was once all set to play hockey for the “Patiala Tigers,” and it is said that the then “Maharaja of Patiala” identified his skills in running boots and helped him in getting a place on the athletic team. He lived as a dignified and principled man. To his son, while joining him in the Forman Christian College, Lahore, he said, “You should command respect in the college as I did in sports here.”

Balkrishan Singh was a graduate of Punjab University, and he started his playing career for Railways as a full-back from 1950–1954. He was also captain of the Indian Railways team and was part of the national hockey championship-winning team in 1963. A gold medalist at the Melbourne Olympics 1956 and a silver medallist at Tokyo Asian Games 1958, he joined an elite coaching panel at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala. He went on to become their senior coach. The chief coach at NIS when he came in was Dada Dhyan Chand. A man who needs no introduction. An athlete whom India failed to honor with its highest civilization award, The Bharat Ratna.

• 1968 – Coach (India Men), Mexico Olympics
• 1969 – Coach, Combined Universities Hockey Team
• 1973 – Coach (India Men), Amsterdam Hockey World Cup
• 1974 – Coach (India Men), Teheran Asian Games
• 1980 – Coach (India Men), Moscow Olympics
• 1982 – Coach (India Women), Delhi Asian Games
• 1984 – Coach (India Men), Los Angeles Olympics
• 1991 – Coach (India Men), Olympic Qualifiers, Auckland
• 1992 – Coach (India Men), Barcelona Olympics

To make tone and tune to the aforementioned tactics and strategy, “total hockey” tests the players’ physical ability, a characteristic of the game that many Indian players are not well equipped with. In this approach to scoring goals and playing hockey, every player on the field is an attacker and a defender – no fixed position for a player, unlike in earlier days (center forward, right inner, left inner, right outer, left outer, full back, and goalkeeper, etc.). Here, as the ball moves upwards, downwards, and sideward on the pitch, the defenders, wingers, injectors, and sweepers move along with the ball. Thus, giving a tough time for the opposition to mark or target a particular player plying his trade in a position he practiced and mastered in the game. The fullbacks and center forwards, in this case, push the ball up, and in the event of strong resistance from the opposition, players switch automatically to their defensive positions.

I took the help and kindness of a senior administrator and coach, Mr. Leo Devadoss, to get in touch with hockey heroes who played under the great man’s tutelage. A few excerpts are shared below.

Anish Ballal (photo, Hockepassion.in)

Ashish Kumar Ballal, a household name, is a veteran of 275 international games for India as a goalkeeper and is a two-time medalist at the Asia Cup and Asian Games. He represented India at the Barcelona Olympics 1992, Lahore World Cup 1990, three Champions Trophy Tournaments, two Asian Games, and two Asia Cups. He is best remembered for his tie-breaker saves in the final of the Bangkok Asian Games, 1998. When asked about his former mentor and coach, Balkrishan Singh, he said: “He was an excellent coach and ahead of this time. He was the pioneer of the concept of “total hockey,” which demanded the transformation of both attackers and defenders and gameplay where players had to play in all positions. As a coach, he was chilled out and had an excellent command of the English language.”

Cheppudira Poonacha, Olympian at the Barcelona games in 1992, said: “Balkrishan Singh made an Olympian. Coach Saab always advised and guided me to improve my dribbling, dodging, and ball control. I was good with tackling and corner running but was lacking these qualities when I started.” 

Dhanraj Pillay, my hero growing up and one of the finest sporting talents after Mohammed Shahid, said: “Balkrishan Singh was my coach who I respected a lot. He taught us the concept of total hockey, where all players were attackers or defenders. He was the first to change our playing format to 4-4-2-1 and experimented with different opponents playing the 5-3-2-1 when needed. He infused confidence in the players and never interfered with what they did on the field. But he always insisted we must give 100% on the field. As a youngster at that time, I was very much in awe of his personality. He had a great influence on my formative years.”

Jude Felix Sebastian, Ex-India Captain with over 250 matches, including two World Cups, two Asian Games, and three Champions Trophy tournaments under his belt, said: “Balkrishan Singh was a great coach, and one of the best India had. He was innovative and always thought out of the box. He knew which player can play to his potential and in which position.”

Courtesy Facebook

Maneyapanda Muthanna Somaya (M M Somaya), a veteran of three Olympics, gold medalist at the Moscow Games in 1980, and captain at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, said: “Balkrishan Singh, not just a coach, but also a good mentor. His thorough knowledge of hockey helped him to be analytical in thinking and proactive in good decision-making. In days when it was seen as very negatively harsh to speak about playing formations other than 5-3-2-1, he changed the formation to 4-4-2-1 at the Los Angeles Olympics, 1984, and ensured the team utilized its strengths and worked on covering the weaknesses. I would say it was probably the best team in the AstroTurf era. I was relatively fresh from college when I first met him at the 1980 National Camp in Patiala. By looking at my lean figure, he quizzically looked at me and said if I had come for a Table Tennis Camp. On the eve of the Moscow Olympics, he decided to play me in the first eleven and thought I had everything in me to play the AstroTurf game. Frankly telling, that was the first time I saw artificial turf, and never played against any international team, too. But, coach Saab believed in my abilities with a hockey stick. I learned a lot from him and also consider myself fortunate to be an integral part of the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.  Coach Saab loved his golf and would often practice with an imaginary club when he was walking. No one could beat this sophisticated gentleman at NIS Patiala. He had a good sense of humor.  At training camp in Bengaluru, before we flew to Moscow, he would constantly make one team play the 3-3-3-1 and 4-2-4 formations, which were used regularly by the European teams but not us. Not many teams are comfortable playing these formations where the man-to-man marking was prevalent. Today, these methods might be very common, but 42 years ago, they were seen as innovative. Since we did not have AstroTurf pitches in India, he insisted we prepare on fast gravel grounds to get used to AstroTurf style. Though vastly different surfaces, he made the best use of in-hand resources.” 

To be honest, I am a little displeased and frustrated at the site of many things happening in Indian hockey. The Astroturf, the four-quarter game, the rolling substitutions, and franchise sport, to name a few. Hockey, as many today, say, has found new feathers and horizons. But alas, infuriatingly, I am exhausted at the dearth of coverage and action of historic tournaments like the Aga Khan Cup and Beighton Cup and the unappreciativeness of former greats and legends.

Even now, if I try to recollect and relieve legends and demi-gods of bygone eras, I lose my breath and confidence. An Olympic gold medal in hockey remains one of my last wishes in this life, and so does due recognition and appreciation for characters that lived their souls out on a hockey pitch.

Lastly, suppose there is ever a Bharat Ratna awarded to an Indian sportsman. In that case, I wish it to be bestowed upon the greatness of Dada Dhyan Chand, K D Singh Babu, Balbir Singh Sr, Balkrishan Singh, and Shankar Laxman.

https://youtu.be/Gk3IeheBHYg