Avtar Singh Bhurji was born in Bika, India and his family emigrated to Uganda in the same year. He studied at Demonstration Primary School and Kololo Secondary School in Kampala, Uganda. He played hockey at the Secondary School and his school captain in those days, Rajinder Singh Sandhu, went on to Captain the Uganda team at Munich 1972 Olympic Games.
After his secondary schooling in Kololo, in 1964, he went to England for further education. He studied at Kingston College in the UK and played for Spencer Hockey Club and Middlesex U21 in 1968. That year he also played for London Indians.
He returned to Kampala in 1969 after completing his studies. He joined Sikh Union Kampala in 1970 and was selected for Uganda team for the Munich 1972 Olympic Games.
After the Olympic Games he returned to the UK and played for Blackheath H C in 1973, winning the National Indoor Championship with the Club in 1976. He played for Surrey County team from 1973 to 1978, and was awarded his Surrey Colours in 1975-76 season. He played for London Indians from 1973 to 1978, captaining the team for five years.
In 1978 he moved to Kenya and played for Nairobi Gymkhana.
After a short stay in Uganda, he returned to the UK in 1988 and when injury brought an end to his playing days he turned up to Coaching.
He has been a Coach since 1991 and holds the National Level 3 Coaching badge. He has coached London University; Imperial Medics; Greenwich University and Spencer H C teams. He was the Director of Coaching at Richmond Hockey Club from 2008 to 2011.
He lives in Surrey, UK.