Chandigarh: The demand for a sports gem for Balbir Singh Sr., who was a great hockey player, has come up. Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has written a letter to PM Modi demanding the award of Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of the country. In a letter to Modi, CM Amarinder described 95-year-old Balbir as an outstanding player of his era. "I would like to point your attention to this subject and request that Balbir Singh Sr., India's most respectable and extraordinary player, be awarded Bharat Ratna after Independence.

Balbir Singh is a great senior hockey player and a member of the Indian team that won gold medals in the Olympics 1948, 1952 and 1956. He was also captain of the Indian team at the 1956 Olympics. "Given his contribution, he was awarded Padma Shri in 1957. I request that the name of Balbir Singh Sr. for Bharat Ratna should be taken into account.

Balbir was selected by the International Olympic Committee as one of the 16 greatest athletes in modern Olympic history. In the Olympic Hockey final, his record of highest goal has been set till today. He scored five goals in the Helsinki Olympics final against the Netherlands in 1952, winning 6-1. He was also the manager of the World Cup 1975 winning Indian team. There has been a long-standing demand to give Bharat Ratna to Major Dhyan Chand too.

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