Earlier
today,
Bollywood
star
Akshay
Kumar
took
to
his
Twitter
to
mourn
the
demise
of
former
hockey
player
Balbir
Singh.
The
actor
penned
a
heartfelt
note
and
said
he
had
the
fortune
of
meeting
the
legendary
player.
The
iconic
player
at
the
age
of
95,
passed
away
earlier
today,
after
battling
multiple
health
issues
over
the
past
two
weeks.
According
to
Indian
Today,
Balbir
Sr
had
developed
a
blood
clot
in
his
brain
and
had
also
been
admitted
to
the
hospital
for
bronchial
pneumonia
with
a
high
fever.
He
reportedly
was
in
a
semi-comatose
state
since
May
18.
Akshay
Kumar
shared
a
picture
with
labour
Singh,
where
they
can
be
seen
smiling
and
laughing
amid
a
conversation.
The
tweet
read,
"Saddened
to
hear
about
the
demise
of
hockey
legend
#BalbirSingh
ji.
Have
had
the
good
fortune
of
meeting
him
in
the
past,
such
an
amazing
personality!
My
heartfelt
condolences
to
his
family,"
The
two
met
while
Akshay
was
shooting
for
the
Bollywood
film
Gold.
The
film
was
set
in
the
era
when
Balbir
Singh
was
a
celebrated
hockey
player
and
had
won
three
goals
medals
and
one
silver
medal
during
Olympics,
over
the
years.
Balbir
Singh
reportedly
had
praised
the
film
on
is
release.
He
said,
"I
am
pleased
that
with
the
forthcoming
Akshay
starrer
movie
called
GOLD
is
inspired
by
the
gold
medal-winning
1948
Olympics
INDIAN
hockey
team.
More
importantly,
&
hopefully,
the
movie
will
familiarize
our
younger
generations
with
golden
Historic
Facts
&
I
will
be
able
to
re-live
some
special
moments
of
my
life!".
PT
Usha,
the
Indian
track
and
field
athlete
also
took
to
her
Twitter
account
remembering
the
iconic
player,
she
wrote,
"Deeply
saddened
to
hear
of
the
passing
of
Balbir
Singh
Sr
ji.
An
athlete
par
excellence
and
a
role
model
beyond
words!
His
bestowed
hands
may
strengthen
my
passions
more.
My
condolences
to
his
family,
friends
and
fans!#balbirsingh
#Balbirhockey"
Balbir
Singh
was
the
first
hockey
player
to
be
awarded
the
Padma
Shri
in
1957.