Avtar Singh Tari being facilitated in the ceremony. / Prabhjot Paul Singh

It was a gala event designed to mark the completion of the glorious 100 years by the oldest sports club of Sikhs outside India. Known by different names — Khalsa Club, Khalsa Union and Simha Club — since its inception in the early 20th century, the Sikh Union Club in Nairobi has come to be known as a feeding channel to Kenyan hockey, cricket and motorsport. Between 1952 and 1988, it produced 26 hockey Olympians and 11 World Cup players, as well as a plethora of motorsport icons and a large number of cricket players who wore Kenya and East Africa colors.

The weeklong celebrations included competitions in hockey, cricket, badminton, darts, golf and a treasure hunt. Among the participating teams, Roundglass Hockey Academy, a team trained by 1980 Moscow Olympic champion Indian hockey team player Rajinder Singh, was the cynosure of all eyes, reviving memories of vintage hockey. This harkened back to a time when Indian teams dominated the global hockey scene for most of the 20th century. Despite an opening-game 1-4 loss to the hosts Sikh Union Club, the visitors from Punjab rebounded, defeating their conquerors by the same margin in the gold medal match. Other teams came from the United Kingdom — Satellites and Sikh Union, London — and Niger Flickers from Nigeria, making the competition a truly international affair.

Meanwhile, on the veteran side of the tournament, the hosts, Sikh Union Club, pocketed the gold by defeating the Satellite Veterans from the United Kingdom. Notably, the British teams were trained by Olympian Harvinder Singh Sibia and internationals Kuljit Singh Dhatt and Ravinder Laly, continuing the tradition of excellence present throughout the festivities.

Sikh Union’s centenary celebrations got a boost when Punjab-based Roundglass, a leading hockey academy, decided to send its young team to participate in the hockey festival that has touched its competitive peak with separate competitions for men and masters.

Beyond the field of play, the centenary program led by chairman Hardial Kalsi has leaned heavily into legacy projects and global engagement. The club has now started academies in various sports to spot talent at the grassroots level, bringing together members and stakeholders to mark a century of sporting excellence.

“Standards have been set, and only the sky’s the limit,” Kalsi said, framing the ambition driving Sikh Union’s next chapter as it builds on its status as one of Kenya’s premier multisport institutions.

For the grand ceremonies — opening and closing — of the centenary celebrations, Harbinder Singh Sethi, a prominent Sikh businessman from South Africa, was the chief guest. There were several big names of yesteryear to be part of the celebrations and future development programs of the club. They included hockey Olympians from India, Malaysia, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Canada, the U.S. and Uganda.

“We are delighted to have teams from India, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Nigeria joining our local teams, including the Sikh Union Club, in a competition that will hopefully have its medal-round matches on a brand-new deep blue synthetic surface being laid at Dasmesh Stadium of the club,” said Manjinder “Munai” Singh Bansal, chairman of the Centenary Celebrations Committee.

After hockey competitions started at a makeshift nearby school ground, finishing touches were being given to the deep blue surface under the watchful eyes of six-time Olympian Avtar Singh Sohal. Avtar Singh, “Tari” to his ardent fans, had taken upon himself the onerous responsibility of generating millions of dollars to lay a brand-new surface at the club to mark the centenary celebrations.

“Our hopes came true as the new deep blue surface was ready in time for the semis and finals. Incessant rains in April and the first week of May had delayed the commissioning of the new surface,” commented Avtar Singh Sohal, who had been watching the work round the clock. “It is the first private club in Kenya to have the latest deep blue surface,” he added.

Also celebrated was the club historian, Del Mudher. / Prabhjot Paul Singh

The organizing secretary, Del Mudher, claimed that it was not hockey alone that had been keeping the Sikh Union Club in the news all these years of its golden existence. Besides contributing 26 Olympians and several hockey World Cuppers, the club has been a known force in cricket and the home ground of East African cricket. It has a rich history of producing some of the top cricketers in East Africa. Besides, one of the top motor rallyists, Tiger Joginder Singh, has also been a product of this club. The club has been organizing the Guru Nanak Motor Rally since 1973.

Del Mudher and his daughter have worked together to bring out a huge anthology chronicling the origin and growth of the club since the early 20th century. Their painstaking efforts have produced a beautiful coffee-table book that has not only all government notifications, pictures and reports related to the development of the club but also highlights its monumental achievements.

The celebrations marked the culmination of a monthlong program that has fused sport, culture and community engagement into a landmark 100-year milestone. The cricket tournament, eight overs a side, was staged at the club’s historic international-standard cricket ground. The hosts, Sikh Union Club, were a little unlucky to end without the title and finished as runners-up.
 

The celebrations marked the culmination of a monthlong program that has fused sport, culture and community engagement into a landmark 100-year milestone. / Prabhjot Paul Singh

The club also had a packed schedule of competitions in other sports that have already seen strong participation in badminton, golf, football, darts and a treasure hunt, underscoring the club’s enduring multisport footprint.

Kenya international Sukhdeep Singh set the early tone of the cricket festivities with a commanding display for the host team.

The hockey tournament provided the climax to the celebrations, and on May 10, the curtain came down with a grand banquet at the club, bringing together members and stakeholders to mark a century of sporting excellence.

Hockey legend Avtar Singh Tari was felicitated with the lifetime achievement award for his glorious seven-decade career in international hockey. Also celebrated was the club historian, Del Mudher.

Manjinder Singh, also known as Munai Bansal, chairman of the Centenary Celebration Committee, while expressing satisfaction over the successful conduct of the program, said the club was now looking forward to restoring its pristine glory of becoming the main feeding channel for both hockey and cricket teams of Kenya while continuing to provide modern training facilities at the grassroots in other sports, including swimming, tennis and golf.

The gala banquet that marked the conclusion of the celebration witnessed a program featuring African dances, Punjabi folk dances and music besides the felicitation of all heroes of yesteryears, including the three Marwa brothers — Amarjeet, Harvinder and Satpal — and Surjit Singh Rihal, Harvinder Pal Singh Sibia, Resham Singh Bains, Ravinder Singh Lally, Tarlochan Singh Channa, Kuljit Singh Dhatta, Ranjeev Deol and Avtar Singh Sohal.

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