, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

) is a former field hockey player, who was a member of the gold medal winning British squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

. Four years earlier, at the 1984 Summer Olympics

1984 Summer Olympics

The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, he secured the bronze medal with his team.

Bhaura has played hockey all his life, nine years on the international level for Great Britain. After winning gold in 1988, he started working within the hockey industry, marketing and developing equipment. He has visited hockey factories in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, developing his own range of hockey and cricket equipment under the brand name Pantheon. He is also involved in developing goalkeeping equipment and now owns a ball manufacturing plant, Chingford Balls.

The only match in which Kulbir Bhaura did not take part at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 was against his native India. Bhaura, centre-forward for Hounslow and the Indian Gymkhana, won 84 caps for England and 61 for Great Britain. After winning an Olympic bronze medal in 1984, he was a member of the England squad which won silver medals at the 1986 World Cup and the 1987 European Cup.

Bhaura hails from Saini

Saini

Saini is a Rajput descent caste of India. Sainis, also known as Shoorsaini in Puranic literature, are now found by their original name only in Punjab and in the neighboring states of Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh...

 community of Indian Punjab

Punjab (India)

Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...

, which has also produced other famous well-known international hockey players like Rupa Saini, Prema Saini, Baljit Singh Saini

Baljit Singh Saini

Baljit Singh Saini is a field hockey defender and midfielder from India who made his international debut for the Men's National Team in 1995 during the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. Baljit Singh Saini represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996 in Atlanta,...

, Balwinder Singh (Baljit's elder brother), and Balwant (Bal) Singh Saini. Balwant (Bal) Singh Saini , like Kulbir Bhaura, played for Great Britain.

See also

• Baljit Singh Saini
  Baljit Singh Saini
  Baljit Singh Saini is a field hockey defender and midfielder from India who made his international debut for the Men's National Team in 1995 during the Indira Gandhi Gold Cup. Baljit Singh Saini represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1996 in Atlanta,...
  
  
• Balwant (Bal) Singh Saini
  Balwant (Bal) Singh Saini
  Balwant Singh Saini is a former British hockey international of Indian descent. He made his debut for England on 12 March 1977 when he played against West Germany at Lords, London. He scored a spectacular goal on his debut at Lords which is still remembered...
  
  
• Saini Sisters
  Saini Sisters
  Saini Sisters is a popular epithet used for three sisters from Punjab who were international field hockey players, Rupa Saini, Krishna Saini and Prema Saini. At one time Saini sisters dominated woman's hockey in India and in the test series against Japan in 1970 all three sisters played together...
  
  
• Saini people
• List of Saini people