Prithipal Singh (28 January 1932 – 20 May 1983) was an Indian
1968 Mexico Olympics
respectively.
Singh was nicknamed the 'King of
Mahabharata war, Prithipal was the maharathi of the International Hockey game.[citation needed] The first-ever Arjuna Award to a hockey player was conferred upon him in 1961, which was later followed by the Padma Shri in 1967.[2]
Early life and education
Singh was born on 28 January 1932 in the city of
British India (now in Pakistan).[3] His father Sardar Wadhawa Singh Chandi was a school teacher and an agriculturist. Prithipal spent his childhood in Nankana Sahib and took his early education there. After the partition of India, the family moved to East Punjab and Prithipal obtained his Master of Science degree in agriculture in 1956 from Agriculture College, Ludhiana.[3] He was to teach there later when the college amalgamated into the newly created Punjab Agricultural University.[2] Singh excelled in his studies and won merit scholarships for academic excellence. From 1950 to 1956, he represented the Agricultural College Ludhiana hockey team and was awarded "roll of honors
" for his all-round achievements in sports and education.
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
Railway Minister
's Medal for being the "Best Railway Sportsman".
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
Shankar Laxman squad. This squad won the gold medal at the tournament. In 1967, Singh skippered India against the visiting German and Dutch teams. In the same year Singh captained the Indian team to Madrid, Spain and won the tournament and the gold medal for India. In 1968, Singh was selected as the captain with Gurbakash Singh as the joint captain for the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico.[6]
At that tournament, India won the bronze medal, although Prithipal Singh again remained the top scorer in the Olympics.
In the first half of the final match between India and Pakistan at the
Tokyo Olympics, the scoreline was 0-0. In the 6th minute, of the second half, the thunderous penalty shot of Prithipal Singh was taken on foot by the Pakistani defender. Mohinder Pal scored from the resultant penalty stroke and India took the lead. In later half, the Pakistani team started resorting to a rough game and show of force to scare the Indian players in order to win the match. Around the middle of second half, there was a free wielding of hockey sticks. One Japanese newspaper published a picture on its front page showing one Pakistani player swinging his stick towards his Indian opponent. In the same picture, Singh was shown as holding one Pakistani player by the throat and striking his stick into his ankle with right hand. One Pakistani forward nicknamed 'Bola', who was notorious for his rough game and greatly feared by the European players, feared Singh and ceased approaching him. Pakistani player Munir Dar shouted at 'Bola' urging him to be aggressive and neutralize the Indian goal, but 'Bola' is reported to have shot back at Munir Dar: "Can’t do it now man, your dad Prithipal is pitched ahead!". Thus, India defeated its rival and won the gold medal. Of India's total 22 goals scored in the Tokyo Olympics, Singh scored 11.[1][2]
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
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
Lakshmibai College of Physical Education, Gwalior. He was appointed the Director of Sports at the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana as well as the Director of Student Welfare in 1968. He had actively participated in all activities relating to Student Welfare until his death in 1983. He was also the Director of Sports, PAU. Many believe that Singh coached the secrets of an iron grip and was the inspiration behind four times World Armwrestling
champion and two times World Martial Arts Breaking champion Jay Ranade, when he worked for Singh at the Punjab Agricultural University in weight lifting coaching.
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]
