Chandigarh, Aug 22 (IANS): Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking Bharat Ratna - the highest civilian award of the country - for ailing triple Olympic hockey gold medallist Balbir Singh Senior.

"Wrote to PM Narendra Modiji, requesting to award Bharat Ratna to Shri Balbir Singh (Sr) for his outstanding performance in hockey," Amarinder Singh tweeted on Thursday.

He also tagged the letter which he wrote to the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

The Chief Minister last month visited Balbir Singh (Sr) at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here to present him the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award for excellence in sports.

He also released an amount of Rs 5 lakh for his treatment.

Balbir Singh (Sr), 94, was a member of three Olympic gold medal winning teams - at London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956). He was also the captain of the Indian hockey team at Melbourne and the flag-bearer of the Indian Olympic contingent.

He was the manager of the 1975 World Cup winning team.