Family legacy lives on: 19th Balwant Singh Hockey Tourney from Dec 7

19th edition of All India S Balwant Singh Kapur Memorial Hockey Tournament for Mata Parkash Kaur cup is going to start from December 7. The tournament will culminate on December 14. The tournament is organised for boys Under-19. A family has been organising this tournament in the memory of their parents since last 19 years.

Brothers Gursaran Singh, 89, Harbhajan Singh, 86, Manjit Singh, 83, Tirath Singh, 75, and Hardeep Singh, 66, may have grown older from the time they launched this tournament years ago in 2004. But age has not dimmed their zeal nor contained their determination to keep their father's name alive through this tournament. The winning team gets Rs 1.25 lakh followed by Rs 1 lakh for the runners-up and Rs 80,000 and Rs 60,000 for the third and the fourth-ranked teams. Six best players also get Rs 10,000 each.

"After the death of our father in 1995, we wanted to start something in his memory. After years of discussions and ideas, we finally decided that we will start this tournament," Harbhajan told The Tribune.

He never played hockey at any level, but he adored the game. We thought we will keep his memory alive this way," he added. Balwant Singh Kapur migrated to Jalandhar from Gujranwala during Partition in 1947, where he learnt to play hockey at Khalsa School and developed a love for the game. He retired as a superintendent from the Jalandhar civic body.

Harbhajan had also told The Tribune, "The tournament is like an annual family festival that no one misses. My brother, Manmohan Singh, was an integral part of it until he died two years ago." "We may skip visiting each other on Diwali or Gurpurb, but we ensure to get together at this time of the year for the tournament." Manjit Singh Kapur also added, "We don't know what will happen next. Now, we have given the responsibility to our kids. They will definitely keep the legacy alive." Interestingly, the family doesn't invite any politician to the event as they don't want any "Rajneeti" around the tournament, which is personal and emotional to them.