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Udham Singh is undoubtedly one of the finest hockey players to have donned the India colours. Udham Singh was born on August 4, 1928, in the hockey bastion of Sansarpur in Punjab.
After being picked up to play for a strong Punjab Police team boasting a number of Olympians, Udham Singh missed the 1948 Olympics due to a nagging finger injury. He was a mainstay of the formidable Indian team that won consecutive gold medals in the 1952 Helsinki and 1956 Melbourne.
Udham Singh made his farewell Olympic appearance in the 1964 Tokyo Games when India avenged their previous Olympic final loss to Pakistan to emerge the winners.
Udham Singh coached the Indian team that won Silver at the 1967 Olympics in London and 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok. In recognition to his services to the nation, Udham Singh was conferred the Arjuna Award.
