Baljit ("Baljeet") Singh Saini (born 12 August 1976 in Ropar,

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

) is a

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

defender and midfielder from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

who made his international debut for the Men's National Team in 1995 during the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. Baljit Singh

Saini Saini () is a farming and landowning caste of northern India. The community is given reservation in India, representation in government jobs and educational institutes as an Other Backward Class (OBC) in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab (I ...

represented his native country at two consecutive

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, starting in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, where India finished in eighth place. His older brother Balwinder Singh was also a field hockey international for India. Baljit has won many awards. In June 2008 he visited the US again, while participating in tournaments. He participated in many tournaments throughout the US, visiting many different states and cities during his triumphut run. Baljit also has family who resides in Fresno, California (USA) and he was honored by the Indian Community of Fresno, CA. In an event organized by Rama Kant Dawar and Paramjit Singh Mond, hosted by Kam Nigam, Baljit received an Honorary Recognition Award for his successes.

References

Bharatiya Hockey

External links

* 1976 births Living people Field hockey players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic field hockey players for India Indian male field hockey players People from Rupnagar Recipients of the Arjuna Award Place of birth missing (living people) Indian Sikhs Field hockey players from Punjab, India Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1998 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games 1998 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2002 Men's Hockey World Cup players {{India-fieldhockey-bio-stub