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From the 1975 hockey world cup – India’s only world triumph till date – to the last edition of the event – 2018 – there was one thing in common: Uganda-born London-based Indian-origin Baldev Singh Kalsi, 66.
He was spotted at the spectator’s gallery, cheering for the men in blue, in each of the 12 editions of the Hockey World Cup played from 1975 till the last one held in 2018 in Bhubaneswar.
He had witnessed all the Olympics from 1972 Munich till 2016 Rio Games. He even bought tickets for the Tokyo Olympics. But first it was the COVID that postponed the games by a year and made it a no-spectators event and then his untimely death in October, 2020, that stopped his Olympic journey.
He was not alive to witness the Indian team making it to the Olympic podium again after the 1980 Moscow Games, but his wish for a medal in Olympics was fulfilled by the Manpreet-led squad in Tokyo.
“Where ever Kalsi sir would be, I am sure he wouldn’t be missing any Indianhockey team match,” says Raja Namdhari, one of the core members of the One Team One Dream (OTOD) – a group of diehard supporters of Indian hockey.
“Hockey is in our blood. We have grown listening to the glorious past of Indian hockey. So, by traveling and watching the India's matches is the least we could contribute to the team,” late Baldev Singh Kalsi had said during the 2018 World Cup.
He used to work double shifts, so that he could get off to travel world to support the Indian team.
To give a tribute to its oldest member – in terms of years of watching Indian hockey team’s matches live – the OTOD organised a hockey tournament in Mumbai, Six-A-Side Senior Hockey Carnival in the memory of Baldev Singh Kalsi, on October 30 and 3 1.
Eight teams competed in the event and a number of Olympians witnessed the event to pay a tribute to its greatest fan.
“Kalsi sir’s love for hockey was unparalleled and organizing a tournament in his memory is the least we could do for him,” says Namdhari.