He was first Sansarpurian to play for Kenya

If Colonel Gurmeet Singh Kular was the first one to play for India in Olympics, Hardev Kular was the first from the same village to play for Kenya. Contribution of Hardev Kular's family in promoting hockey in Africa in general and Kenya in particular is tremendous. I had a chance to interact with him on several occasions. Here are some of the excerpts:

India must continue with its national hockey league to be played all over the country for at least six to seven months a year, says Hardev Singh Kular, perhaps the oldest surviving Olympian from Sansarpur, once nursery of Indian hockey.

Hardev Kular, who retired from police as Chief Prosecuting Inspector, represented Kenya in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic games. His son, Harvinder, donned Kenyan colours in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic games.

This Kular family has unprecedented contribution to hockey.

It all started in 1920 when Hardev’s father migrated to Kenya. “I was born and brought up in Kenya. Though my elder brother Hardial came to India for studies, I went to England. Then I joined Kenyan police. In 1962, I accompanied Kenya’s national team on its first official visit to Pakistan. Two years later, we came to India to play hockey.

“There used to be overwhelming response to Test matches between India and Kenya because the strength of our team used to be either Punjabi or Goan boys. In Bombay we were leading India 2-1 in front of a jam packed stadium before a controversial goal was awarded against us,” laments Hardev.

Hardev Kular’s younger brother, Jagjit, played in the 1968 and the 1972 Olympic Games, while his elder brother, Hardial Singh, not only remained chairman of the Kenyan Hockey Union for many years but also headed the African Hockey Federation. He also remained Vice-President of the International Hockey Federation.

When the India organized the first Afro-Asian Games in Hyderabad a couple of years ago, Hardev accompanied the Kenyan contingent. At present Hardev is also the chairman of the Kenyan Olympians Association which was previously headed by Kepcho Keino, the Olympic gold medalist.

No other family in the world has perhaps contributed to hockey as much as this Kular family has done. Hardial remained a coach as well as an administrator of hockey in Africa for three decades. After death of Hardial in 1998, Hardev Singh became the Chairman of the Kenyan Hockey Union and retired last year. Jagjit Singh Kular, who later moved to Canada, is still connected with promotion of field hockey there.

Hardev Singh, now a businessman, keeps on visiting India,and his ancestral village. He also attended wedding of Sarfraz, son of another Olympian from Sansarpur, Colonel Balbir Singh (retd) a couple of years ago.

“I have been suggesting to the Indian Hockey Federation to start a national league. Though India remained a super power in hockey for a long time but now its position has been slipping down. To maintain its position in the top bracket, India must do something by keeping this game alive,” feels Hardev Kular.

“I always advocated that India and Pakistan should join hands and prevent Europeans from making sweeping changes in the rules. We must realize that certain powerhouses of contemporary hockey do not want this sport to become a popular sport. They want it to go the way of Rugby or cricket which only select nations actively play. From a poor man’s sport in India, both Germany and the Netherlands want it to be middle or upper middle class sport.

“Unfortunately, neither India nor Pakistan could see through this game of the Europeans. And now we are nowhere. In one of the elections to the FIH, both KPS Gill (India) and Avtar Singh (Kenya), polled 39 votes each and lost by one vote each. At one time, a representative of India used to be among office-bearers – Vice-President – in the FIH, “says Hardev Singh.But none has succeeded Dr MAM Ramaswamy, a former IHF chief.

Incidentally, Avtar Singh, one of the greatest fullbacks produced by Kenya, later turned an international umpire and a judge for various international hockey competitions. He also has strong Indian connections.

“I do not subscribe to the theory that more and more synthetic surfaces can help India comeback on world hockey scenario,” he says maintaining that unless the base of the sport was expanded and good quality national level league was introduced; hockey may not survive for long.

“In Kenya, we lost on hockey front because of large scale of migration of our players to other countries, especially England and Canada. Hockey was mainly played by immigrants and once they moved out en masse, the base was eroded. Hockey is there in Kenya but not the level it was 40 years ago,” concludes Hardev Singh.

*Blogs on Colonel Gurmeet Singh Kular and Hardev Singh Kular are from my forthcoming book on "Untold story of Indian hockey".