Ballu

Ballu is considered by many to be the best Volleyball player India has produced till date. His smashes were awesome and he had the reputation of being a destroyer of the opposition's confidence single-handedly. ["It is with a sense of contentment then that Murugan speaks of India being a force in Asia. A sport that had the services of such legendary figures as the mercurial Jimmy George, 'Ballu' Balwant Singh.....", Sportstar, VOL.26 :: NO.39 :: Sept. 27 - Oct. 03, 2003 [http://www.hinduonnet.com/tss/tss2639/stories/20030927005300600.htm] ]

Background

Balwant Singh Sagwal, more popularly known as Ballu, was born in the Ror community. The name of his village is Kaul and it is situated on the Karnal-Pehowa road. Kaul is famous for being quite a well-developed village with a sprawling market and the number of Mohallas in the village is more than a person can possibly remember. It boasts of being a very good educational center with several colleges and schools situated in the village. His father's name is Ch. Dhanpat Singh Sagwal and he was a farmer by occupation.

porting career

Ballu was a tall, ungainly youth from the beginning. His height was 6'8" and his hands and feet were enormous in size. He was from a modest background and he went to look for a job with the Border Security Force (BSF). He joined BSF and was posted in Jullundhur. BSF Jullundhur had quite a tradition in producing quality Volleyball players those days. ["The BSF also used to take pride in its volleyball (Nripjit Singh Bedi, Sukhpal and Balwant Singh Ballu) and basketball team (Anil Punj, Nirmal Chaudhary)", Article "Punjab: The spirit of sport", Sunday Tribune, November 18, 2001 [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011118/spectrum/main1.htm] ]

Looking at Ballu's uncommon height, the BSF coach started calling him to the practice sessions. Ballu proved to be a wonderful student and within months started to shape into a fine player. Being from the Ror community, Ballu had an enormous aggressive streak and became a great attacker. He is supposed to be the best attacking player Indian Volleyball has produced till date. Ballu was awarded the country's top sporting honor Arjuna Award in Volleyball in the year 1972 for his excellent sportsmanship and contribution to the national team. He was absolutely world-class and feared in the whole of Asia. He was also instrumental in making the Indian Volleyball team win the silver medal in the 1962 Asian Games at Jakarta, Indonesia.

Post-retirement

Ballu runs a Volleyball academy in his ancestral village Kaul in present-day Kaithal district of Haryana. A stadium has also been named after him and a lot of boys from the surrounding areas in the state of Haryana join his academy to learn the game.

ee also

*Ror community
*Kaul

References