The Autobiography of Balbir Singh (Senior)
By Samuel Banerjee, Vikas Publishers, 1977
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Off to Kuala Lumpur |
The Selection Committee comprised Olympians Nandi Singh, R. S.
Bhola, Leo Pinto, Charanjit Singh and V. J. Peter.
In all, the national team played 35 practice matches and gained much needed experience and improved their combination. Shortcomings of the players were discussed at our dinner-table clinics. Efforts were made to remove them the following day. |
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training camp for the World Cup was divided into three phases:
The Selection Committee comprised the following veteran Olympians - Nandi Singh, R. S. Bhola, Leo Pinto, Charanjit Singh and V. J. Peter. While selecting the team, due consideration was given to the opinion of the coaches. The following 16-member team was selected
| Player | Age (in 1974) |
| Ashok Dewan | 20 years |
| Leslie Fernandes | 24 years |
| Michael Kindo | 27 years |
| Surjit Singh | 23 years |
| Aslam Sher Khan | 21 years |
| Varinder Singh | 27 years |
| Ajit Pal Singh | 27 years |
| Mohinder Singh | 21 years |
| Onkar Singh | 22 years |
| V. J. Philips | 24 years |
| B. P. Govinda | 23 years |
| H. J. S. Chimni | 29 years |
| Shivaji Pawar | 27 years |
| Harcharan Singh | 23 years |
| Ashok Kumar Singh | 24 years |
| P. E. Kaliah | 22 years |
In all, the national team played 35 practice matches and gained much needed experience and improved their combination. Our opponents included reputed teams like Corps of Signals, Punjab Police, Border Security Force, Indian Air Force and Combined Universities (Punjab). Shortcomings of the players were discussed at our dinner-table clinics. Efforts were made to remove them the following day.
En route to Kuala Lumpur, our team played 3 practice matches at Singapore under the supervision of international umpires. We did not allow the team members to make purchases at Singapore prior to the World Cup. I promised to bring the boys back to Singapore if they won the World Cup.
Author with President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed