Ajit Singh Gill (21 March 1928 – 16 January 2024) was a Singaporean field hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

. Gill died on 16 January 2024, at the age of 95.

Early life

Ajit Singh Gill was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1928. He was the oldest of 10 siblings. In 1953, his family moved to Singapore. While there, he attended Teacher Training College. During World War 2, he lived through the Japanese occupation of Malaya. He used to go Singapore on a train to buy goods from the now-defunct Sungei Road Market and then return to Kuala Lumpur. He used to cycle up to 80 kilometers to sell his things in the countryside to support his family. He was scrawny (thin) as a young boy and overcame his childhood asthma by playing sports in

Kampung A kampong (''kampung'' in Malay and Indonesian) is the term for a village in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore and a "port" in Cambodia. The term applies to traditional villages, especially of the indigenous people, and has also been used t ...

Career

Ajit Singh Gill played hockey and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for the Selangor Indian Association from 1948 to 1951 and for the state of Selangor in 1950. He was a short corner specialist and played for the

Singapore Indian Association The Singapore Indian Association was established in 1923 with the objective of promoting the social, physical, intellectual, cultural and the general welfare of its members. When it was formed, the association projected itself as a pan-Indian, ra ...

from 1952 to 1975. In 1956, he then represented Singapore in the Melbourne Olympics. He switched to cricket in 1960s. He earned the nickname — “big-hitting Sikh”, because of hitting fours and sixes with ease. He retired from coaching cricket and hockey in 1985. After that he played golf and

race walk Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asse ...

. He topped the ASEAN Senior Amateur Golf Championship in 1990 After 26 years, he won gold in the 5,000 meter race walk at the Asia Masters Athletics Championships on home soil. In 2010, during the Singapore leg of the Youth Olympic Games torch relay, he was one of 2,400 torchbearers and the oldest among them.

Death

Ajit Singh died on 16 January 2024, at the age of 95 due to end stage renal failure. According to his son, he had fractured his hip during the last February after a fall but it healed sufficiently in three months. However, later his health due to renal failure. At the time of his death, his wife (Surjit Kaur) was 92 years old; and his lineage consisted of 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/diaspora/singapores-oldest-olympian-and-former-indian-origin-national-hockey-player-ajit-singh-gill-dies-at-95-581808

References

External links

* * 1928 births 2024 deaths Singaporean male field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for Singapore Field hockey players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Kuala Lumpur Malaysian sportspeople of Indian descent Malaysian people of Punjabi descent Malaysian emigrants to Singapore Singaporean sportspeople of Indian descent Singaporean people of Punjabi descent {{Singapore-fieldhockey-bio-stub