Indian hockey great and 1964 Olympic gold medalist Charanjit Singh passes away

Una (HP): Indian hockey star Charanjit Singh passed away here on Thursday. He was 92.

Singh, who was Captain of the Indian team that won the Gold in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, had been ailing for some months.

Singh was awarded the Arjun Award in 1963 and the Padam Shri in 1964 for his valuable contribution to Indian hockey. He served as the Director of the Himachal Pradesh University's sports wing for several years.

Hailing from Maidi village of Una district, Singh was born on February 3,1931 in Naihariyan.

After completing his primary education, he obtained a degree in B.Sc Agriculture from the Lyallpur Agricultural College.

He played hockey for his university for the first time in 1949. He represented India from 1958 to 1965. He took part in two Olympics and an Asian event. In 1964, he captained the gold medal winning Indian team.

In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Singh sustained a fracture in a semifinal match. So, he could not play in the final and India settled for the silver.

Singh joined Punjab Police as an Assistant Sub-Inspector and retired as a Deputy Superintendent of Police after 14 years of service.

Later, he was a Deputy Director, Student Welfare, in the Ludhiana Agricultural University and the Hisar Agricultural University.

In 1972, at the behest of his father, he took up a job in Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla as Director Physical Education and Youth Programme. (UNI)