Dharam
Singh came into the limelight when he played for Khalsa College,
Amritsar in 1942.
He remained in that team till 1949 when he joined Punjab Police.
He
captained the State team in 1948 and the Punjab University in 1949.
He
played for Punjab Police for over a decade before he joined the
State Sports Department as a coach.
In
1964 he was selected coach of the Indian team which regained the
Olympic title at the Tokyo Games.
As
a deep defender, Dharam won appreciation from his peers and seniors
for his tough game.
Dharam
never indulged in unfair play and always enjoyed the respect of
the umpires, as can be seen by the fact he never received marching
orders from the umpires in his entire career.
He
trained the team for the 1978 Asiad in Bangkok where Indian won
the silver medal.
Dharam was on the selection panel of the Indian Hockey Federation
in 1970 and 1982.
Dharam
Singh, fondly called 'Doctor Saheb' by his friends, was a 'Dronacharya'
to many top hockey players in the country, having trained a number
of players, including Prithipal Singh, Dharam Singh Jr. and Surjeet
Singh.
Dharam
Singh passed away in Chandigarh on 5th December 2002 aged 84.
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