Ludhiana: Baldev Singh from the Ludhiana district has once again made the city and everyone proud after being named in the list of the recipients for Padma Shri awards. Before becoming a coach for the hockey team, he was an international hockey player, won a lot of matches and achieved various medals at national and international competitions. Baldev Singh is also known as ‘Father of Hockey in Haryana’, as he has served for years in the sports department of Haryana and he was also awarded with the Dronacharya Award in 2009.
The efforts made by Baldev Singh in the field of hockey have always been remarkable and he is also known for his ability and efforts that he has put into making the hockey game a success for the girls. He has produced around 80 international players for the spots, including Harpal Singh, Navjot Kaur, Sanjeev Kumar Dang, Didar Singh, Sandeep Singh and Rani Rampal (former captain of the Indian women’s hockey team. During his journey in the sports, he has been a part of various hockey clubs, associations, academies, welfares and other sports-related societies. He started his journey being a student, then became an international hockey player and later became a professional hockey coach. He will be awarded with the Padma Shri after his previous award received by him back in 2009 – Dronacharya Award. Talking to the TOI, Baldev Singh said, “I was never in the race for achieving any medals, awards or recognitions for the world of hockey. I have already received an award back in 2009, Dronacharya Award. All I wanted to do was to put my best possible efforts into the sport. I appreciate that I have been in the list for the Padma Shri awards and I will continue to do every possible effort for the betterment and good future of the sport.”
