Baljit
Singh Dhillon represented India at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic
Games where India finished 8th; 2000 Sydney Olympic Games where
India finished 7th and 2004 Athens Olympic Games where India
finished 7th.
Baljit's association
with hockey begun early in life. He was only eight years old
when he started to play. He did his schooling from D.K.M. School,
Jalandhar, and proved to be a natural with the hockey stick.
He represented
his State in the National Schools Championship and his university
in the Inter-University Championship.
Baljit is a product
of Punjab Sports Hostel
Baljit at Athens
Olympics
A forward of exceptional
ability, Baljit has played both as inside-left and centre-forward,
moving to the left-winger’s position in the Asian Games
in Hiroshima where he scored the winning goal over South Korea
in the pool match.
Baljit was also
a prominent member of the Indian team in the Asia Cup, also
at Hiroshima, again finishing second to South Korea.
A regular member
of the Punjab Police team in the various tournaments, he has
done exceptionally well for the State team at both the junior
and senior Nationals.
Baljit at Sydney
Olympics
He made his international
debut in 1993 during a test series with South Africa where he
scored six goals.
He represented
India at the 1995 Berlin and 2003 Amstelveen Champions Trophy
He represented
India at 1998 Bangkok Asian Games where India won Gold and the
1994 Hiroshima Asian Games where India won Silver.
He played for India
at the 1993 Hiroshima, 1999 Kuala Lumpur (Captain) and the 2003
Kuala Lumpur Asia Cup
He represented
India at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games, scoring 6
goals (top scorer for India).
He Captained India
at the 2000 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, scoring 4 goals.
Baljit celebrating
a goal at Sydney Olympics
He Captained India
Gold Medal team at the 2001 Kuala Lumpur Champions Challenge
tournament where he won the Man of the Final award.
Baljit has represented
India at the Champions’ Trophy in Berlin, the Indira Gandhi
International at Lucknow in 1993, South Asian Federation Games
– 1995 (Madras), Sultan Azlan Shah Cup – 1996 (Ipoh)
and the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998.
Dhillon is a deadily
striker of the ball. His patented reverse shots are nightmares
for goal-keepers. He scores on single touch, crucial tool to
break packed defences.
His brother, Daljeet
is also a Hockey International player.
He received the
Indian National Award ‘Arjuna Puraskar’ in 1998.
In October 1999
he was selected for the FIH President's X1 in a match against
the World Champions Netherlands to celebrate FIH's 75th Anniversary.
He scored a goal in that match.
Baljit at Athens
Olympics
Photo
on left:
Pakistan
left half, Waseem Ahmed (left), was out-run and out-manoevred
by Baljit Dhillon during the India-Pakistan test series in 1998.
