Hockey Olympian Varinder Singh passes away at Jalandhar

NEW DELHI: Hockey Olympian Varinder Singh passed away at Jalandhar in the early hours on Tuesday morning.

Born on May 16, 1947, he won a bronze medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He also competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

Hockey India mourned the demise of the 75-year-old Varinder, saying the two-time Olympian was a part of Indian hockey's glorious past.

Recipient of the prestigious Dhayan Chand Award, Varinder was an integral part of India's various memorable victories in the 1970s. Some of his major achievements include a gold medal at the 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This remains India's only gold medal at the prestigious World Cup where India had beaten arch-rivals Pakistan 2-1.

Varinder was also part of the bronze medal-winning team at the 1972 Munich Olympics and silver medal-winning team at 1973 World Cup in Amsterdam.

He also had to his credit silver medals at the 1974 and 1978 Asian Games, respectively. The Indian hockey stalwart also featured in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.

In 2007, Varinder was conferred with the prestigious Dhyan Chand Life Time Achievement Award. His funeral will likely take place on Tuesday. IANS

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