The Autobiography of Balbir Singh (Senior)
By Samuel Banerjee, Vikas Publishers, 1977
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Lucky Number 13 |
A cute young girl in Cophenhagen pointed out that I was wearing an unlucky number. She was pleasantly surprised with my reply. "Thirteen in north Indian languages is pronounced as tera, which is also a form of addressing God, " I told her. "For me, this is a lucky number. I dedicate my performances to the One Above." I don't know if she understood me. |
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t
was an 18-member Olympic team. As was the fashion in those days, the team comprised 2
goalkeepers, 3 backs, 5 halves and 8 forwards.
The shirt numbers were allotted in playing order, which meant that I had to settle for the number 13 shirt! I was never conscious of it, until a cute young girl pointed out in Cophenhagen, where we were acclimatizing prior to the Olympics, that I was wearing an unlucky number. She was pleasantly surprised when I gave her my explanation.
"Thirteen in north Indian languages is pronounced as tera, which is also a form of addressing God, " I told her. "For me, this is a lucky number. I dedicate my performances to the One Above." I don't know if she understood me.
At Helsinki, the van that took us to the stadium for our first match had a number plate that added up to 13. In the entire tournament, India scored 13 goals. I got nine of those, my highest tally in a single Olympic outing.
Associated with the number 13, I have a host of memories that will linger forever in my mind. My house #1534, my office #562, my private car #3163 and my office car #2902, all add up individually to make 13.
To round it all, I had a court case going regarding my seniority in the Sports department. The record files sent to the court were 13 in number. And I won the case. Who says number 13 is unlucky!
Author with Movie Star (1952 Olympics)