Seventy-three-year-old Olympian Davinder Singh Garcha, a member of India’s gold medal-winning hockey team at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, died at his residence in Jalandhar following a massive heart attack.

According to sources, Garcha collapsed at the dining table while having breakfast. He had undergone a heart procedure earlier this month. A retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, he is survived by his wife and a son.

During his police career, Garcha served as Senior Superintendent of Police in Khanna and Moga. Even after retiring from service, he remained closely associated with hockey. To honor the memory of his childhood friend and 1975 World Cup-winning Indian hockey player Mohinder Singh “Munshi,” he regularly organized an invitational tournament in his name. The most recent edition of the tournament was held in November last year.

Garcha rose to national prominence for his lethal penalty corner strikes. Representing India at the Moscow Olympics, he emerged as the tournament’s third-highest scorer with eight goals.

Former goalkeeper and CEO of the All-India Surjit Hockey Tournament Committee Iqbal Singh Sandhu and Garcha played together for India in 30 international matches across three tournaments, jointly contributing 19 goals.

Condoling Garcha’s death, Jalandhar Cantonment MLA and Olympian Pargat Singh described him as a dedicated hockey player, organizer, and promoter. Expressing condolences to the bereaved family, Singh praised Garcha’s contributions to the sport, including his role in organizing the Mohinder Singh Munshi Memorial Tournament.

Coming from a lower middle-class family known for its dairy business, Garcha honed his penalty corner skills to perfection. His contemporaries included renowned penalty corner specialists such as Surjit Singh, Aslam Sher Khan, Baldev Singh, Rajinder Singh Senior, S. Dung Dung, Michael Kindo, Gurdish Pal Singh, Mohinder Pal Singh, and Vineet Kumar.

Several former players and hockey officials expressed their condolences, including Olympians Colonel Balbir Singh (Services), Harmik Singh, Ajit Pal Singh, Hardeep Singh Grewal, Balwinder Singh Shammi, Sanjeev Kumar Dang, Harpreet Singh Mandher, Gagan Ajeet Singh, and Baljit Singh Dhillon; internationals Jagdeep Singh Gill, Sukhvir Singh Grewal, Gurdish Pal Singh, and Tejinder Singh Aujla; Dronacharya awardee coach Baldev Singh; and Punjab Hockey Association President Nitin Kohli.

Family sources said the cremation will take place on January 14.

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