Prithipal Singh
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
British India | 28 January 1932||
Died |
20 May 1983 Ludhiana, Punjab, India | (aged 51)||
Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
Weight | 71 kg (157 lb) | ||
Playing position | Halfback | ||
Senior career | |||
Years | Team | ||
Punjab Police[1] | |||
National team | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
India | |||
Medal record |
Prithipal Singh (28 January 1932 – 20 May 1983) was an Indian
Singh was nicknamed the 'King of
Early life and education
Singh was born on 28 January 1932 in the city of
Hockey career
Between 1950 and 1954, Singh represented his college hockey team four times and was appointed the captain of the team in 1955. He participated in the various national hockey tournaments from Punjab. Upon completion of his post-graduation in 1956, Singh joined Punjab Police as an inspector and started playing for their team. In 1958, he played in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar as part of the India national field hockey team. In 1959, he participated in the Munich festival held in Germany where he was judged the best fullback player in the world. That same year he toured all the European countries.
During the
Politics dictated the IHF selection committee which excluded Singh from the Indian field hockey team in 1963. There was a loud uproar in the Indian press which protested in unison: "Has Prithipal become so bad [unwanted player] after resigning from the Punjab Police?”. The Indian Railway Police, however, began winning national tournaments.
While playing for Indian Railways, Singh won a vital link under the leadership of Charanjit Singh. He was included in the Indian field hockey team headed for the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, which regained the Olympic title at Tokyo after defeating their arch-rival Pakistani team. Commenting on the performance of Indian team at Tokyo, Melville de Mellow wrote: "All played brilliant hockey, but as always some were superb: Prithipal Singh, who scored 11 of India's 22 goals in the tournament will be remembered particularly for he was like the Rock of Gibraltar".[4][5]
Singh participated at the
Tokyo Olympics
In the first half of the final match between India and Pakistan at the
Awards and recognition
From 1950 to 1956, Singh represented Agricultural College Ludhiana Hockey team and was awarded the "roll of honors” for his all-round achievements in sports and education in 1955. The Indian Government acknowledged his prominence in the field of Hockey and the first-ever Arjuna Award to a hockey player was conferred to him in 1961 by the Indian President, Rajendra Prasad. Sports writers for various newspapers and sports magazines described him as the all-time best full-back hockey player.
In 1963, Singh resigned from Punjab Police and joined the Indian Railways Police. Indian Railway Police acknowledged his talent and performance in hockey field. Singh was awarded the Railway Minister's Medal in 1965 for being the "Best Railway Sportsman". He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1967 by the Indian President Zakir Husain for his meritorious contributions to world hockey.
Other achievements
Singh retired from active hockey after the
Death
Singh was shot dead by students in the campus of the Punjab Agricultural University on 20 May 1983 in Ludhiana. Others claim that he was shot by political rivals or by a deep conspiracy of hockey competitors as his murder remains unsolved. It is also deeply alleged that as the director of sports and student's welfare at Punjab Agricultural University, Singh was involved in the murder of footballer Piara Singh Parmar.[2]
In popular culture
Prithipal Singh (2015) is an Indian docudrama film about his life and achievements by Babita Puri.[7]
See also
- List of unsolved murders
References
- ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Prithipal Singh". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Gandhi, S.S. (2001) "India's Highest Sports Awards and Those Who Won Them", Defence Review.
- ^ a b Website: Sportal, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Hockey, Prithipal Singh.
- ^ de Mellow, Melville. "Victory Among the Chrysanthemums". Story of the Olympics.
- ^ Tokyo, 1964. www.bharatiyahockey.org
- ^ The Hindu, 16 September 2000.
- ^ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
External links
- Prithipal Singh at Sikh Hockey Olympians
- Prithipal Singh at Olympedia
- Prithipal Singh at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)