The Autobiography of Balbir Singh (Senior)
By Samuel Banerjee, Vikas Publishers, 1977
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The Early Round |
An official of the Helsinki Olympic Organising Committee patted me and said, "Congratulations, son. A pigeon dropping on the left toe is supposed to be the luckiest sign in Finland. You are going to have your luckiest Olympics." Helsinki did prove to be my greatest year. I got nine of India's total of thirteen goals, my highest tally in an Olympic tournament. |
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was
India's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies. As thousands of pigeons were
released, the birds fluttered over our heads, and some bird dropping splashed
over my left toe.
I stood stock still, because the occasion demanded it. But it gave me an uneasy feeling, and I was worried if my India blazer had been soiled.
After the ceremonies, as I was looking for some paper to wipe my shoes with, an official of the Helsinki Olympic Organising Committee patted me and said, "Congratulations, son. A pigeon dropping on the left toe is supposed to be the luckiest sign in Finland. You are going to have your luckiest Olympics."
Helsinki did prove to be my greatest year. I got nine of India's total of thirteen goals, my highest tally in an Olympic tournament.
Finland is the land of the midsummer nights. The first night was terrible for us; the glare in the open window would not give us sleep. We adjusted to the odd sight of the sun shining in the night by downing our shutters and darkening our rooms with heavy curtains.
Eight teams had entered the tournament, which was played on a knockout basis. Our three rivals on the way to the gold medals were Austria, Britain and Holland.
We opened the tournament with a 4-0 win over Austria - never a force to reckon with in international hockey. We knew we should have won by a bigger margin. The trouble was that some of our forwards tended to overdo the dribble and play to the gallery. All our goals came by solo efforts - I got one.
Author's Photograph