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Hockey Olympian Sukhbir Singh Gill passes away after 17-year battle with brain tumour
Chandigarh’s first hockey Olympian Sukhbir Singh Gill had represented India at the Sydney Olympics (2000), the Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur (2002), and the FIH Champions Trophy in Cologne (Germany) in 2002, bringing Chandigarh on the international map.
The city’s first hockey Olympian Sukhbir Singh Gill passed away at the age of 48 after a 17-year long battle with brain tumour.
The former Indian midfielder breathed his last at his residence in Sector 49 on Friday afternoon.
Gill had represented India at the Sydney Olympics (2000), the Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur (2002), and the FIH Champions Trophy in Cologne (Germany) in 2002, bringing Chandigarh on the international map.
He began playing hockey at Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, and also trained at the Hockey Stadium, Sector 42. Later, he went to DAV College, Sector 10. He represented Panjab University in the All India Inter-University Hockey Championships before cementing his place on the Indian team.
After announcing his retirement, Gill ran an academy at Shivalik Public School, Mohali, and organised hockey championships, such as Dharam Singh Memorial Hockey Tournament in Chandigarh, every year for budding players.
But as the flag-bearer of field hockey in Chandigarh, Gill, received little help from administration in his battle against tumour.
Gill is survived by his handicapped mother Daljeet Kaur, wife Gurpreet Kaur, a 19-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son. Gill, underwent some major surgeries for the tumour, which was detected in December 2006, but the disease rendered him completely bedridden in 2021.
