Summer of ’48: Celebration on the streets

Balbir Singh Sr

The Britons had been our rulers for 200 years. But the men we met in England were poles apart from the image of the tough rulers that we knew back home. They in fact went all out to befriend us.

It was at the London Olympics that Pakistan made their first appearance. The Indian and Pakistani teams were billeted at different places.

We first met at Wembley Stadium during the ceremonial opening of the games. Niaz Khan, AI S. Dara, Shah Rukh, Mehmood and Aziz saw us, but I was surprised to see that our old friends were deliberately keeping a distance from us. The openness of old was gone.

I played in the second match against Argentina, when Reggie reported sick. We won 9-1, and it turned out to be a great debut for me in Olympic hockey.

I scored six goals, including a hat-trick. For the match against Spain, I was asked to get ready. Just before I was entering the ground, I was told to stay back at the instance of Pankaj Gupta, who was keen on Nandi Singh. We managed to win with a great deal of difficulty.

In the semifinal against Holland, I was selected in the first XI. I actually entered the ground and was about to bully off, when Kishan Lal told me that Chatterjee and Pankaj Gupta wanted me back in the pavilion. Glacken, instead, would play the match. Again India was faced with a tough defence, and we managed to win 2-1.

Britain had been Olympic hockey champions in the 1908 Games at London and in the 1920 Games at Antwerp. Once India made their entry in the 1928 Games at Amsterdam, they decided not to play. Britain never played an India XI as long as they remained our rulers. The 1948 Olympic hockey final was the first meeting between Britain and India.

In the final, I was back in the team. The match started with chants of ‘Come on Britain’. Our opponents were full of confidence as they had beaten Pakistan 2-0 in the semifinals, shutting out all hopes of a new nation.

The ground had become slippery and wet due to a slight drizzle. Kishan Lal and KD Singh ‘Babu’ took off their shoes and played barefoot.

In the first half I scored twice - both hits taken from the top of the circle, off passes from Kishan Lal and Babu. Tarlochan Singh converted a penalty corner early in the second half and Pat Jansen scored a field goal to end the British hopes. We were on the attack throughout. The spectators were thrilled. The gold medal was ours.

Bombay (now Mumbai) literally unrolled its biggest red carpet. We were swept off our feet, and it was here that I realized what victory meant to our nation. Hockey was the only sport that gave the country a ray of golden hope, something to shout about.

In Delhi, President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru came to see a match that had been arranged at National Stadium.

The press claimed that 70,000 people watched the match that day at National Stadium.Enthusiastic spectators hoisted us on their shoulders and patted us and touched us as if they were paying tribute to heroes returning home from a fierce battle. The crowd tossed me about and I enjoyed it.

In the melee, my first Olympic blazer was torn. It was embarrassing for India’s top goal getter to go about in clothes not befitting him, yet the moment was so exhilarating that I forgot my woes.

I went to Moga to meet father, mother and Sushil. Moga gave its hometown hero a royal welcome. Huge arches were set up across the streets in my honour.

Riding an open van, with my thrilled wife by my side, and my proud parents in the rear, I was virtually crushed by the weight of the garlands, flower petals and confetti that the people showered at me.

(Extract from the author’s autobiography, The Golden Hat-trick, written by Samuel Banerjee, Vikas Publishers, 1977. Balbir Singh Sr won three Olympic gold medals from 1948-56 and was captain in the third)