Charanjit Singh (3 February 1931 – 27 January 2022) was an Indian

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

player who was the captain of the team that won the gold medal at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and the 1962 Asian Games in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

. Singh was a recipient of the Indian government's

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

in 1963 and the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 1964.

Early life

Singh was born on 3 February 1931 in Mairi Village in the Amb subdivision of

Una district Una is a district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Una shares its border with the Hoshiarpur and Rupnagar districts of Punjab and Kangra, Hamirpur and Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. The terrain is generally plain with semi h ...

in present day

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

(then

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

). Charanjit Singh was an alumnus of

Col. Brown Cambridge School Colonel Brown Cambridge School is one of the oldest residential schools in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. It is an English medium school affiliated to the Indian Council of School Certificate Examination (CICSE) board of Education. The school ...

, Dehradun and was exposed to hockey during his time there. Singh graduated with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from the Government Agricultural College,

Lyallpur Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...

(in modern-day Pakistan). During this time, he represented

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

Career

Singh started his career representing Punjab Police and was picked for the Indian team in the early 1950s, playing as a midfielder (also referred to as center-half) in a team that included

Leslie Claudius Leslie Walter Claudius (25 March 1927 – 20 December 2012) was an Indian field hockey player from Bilaspur. He studied in South Eastern Railway (Now SECR) English Medium School Bilaspur which has produced many national sportsmen. Leslie Clau ...

Keshav Dutt Keshav Chandra Dutt, also spelt as Keshav Datt (29 December 1925 – 7 July 2021), was an Indian field hockey player and played as a halfback. He was a part of the team that won gold medals at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. He made 22 internation ...

, and

Joseph Antic Joseph "Joe" Anthony Antic (13 March 1931 – 12 July 2016) was an Indian field hockey player. He was born in Secunderabad. He won a silver medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome , established_title = Founded , establish ...

, all playing in the midfield position. Singh was the captain of the

Indian hockey team The India men's national field hockey team represents India in international field hockey competitions, and is governed by Hockey India. The team was formerly under the control of Indian Hockey Federation. India was the first non-European team t ...

that won the gold medal at the

. He was also a member of the team that won the silver medal at the

Field hockey at the 1960 Summer Olympics The field hockey tournament at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy was contested from August 26 to September 9, with sixteen participating teams. Only men competed in field hockey at these Games. Pakistan won the gold medal, defeating India in ...

. He also represented India in two

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

, including the 1962 Asian Games in

. He is credited with returning the gold medal to the Indian team in 1964, when earlier in both the 1962 Asian games and in the 1960 Olympics, the country had lost in the finals to Pakistan. Singh had missed the final against Pakistan due to an injury. In 1964, under Singh's captaincy, the Indian team won a few tournaments leading up to the Olympics, and remained unbeaten in the Olympics, winning seven matches and drawing two, before defeating Australia 3-1 in the semifinals, and Pakistan, 1-0 in the finals. In an editorial, the Indian newspaper, ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'', called Singh's style of play "crafty" and him a "member of the golden generation", referring to him and some of his peers including

Balbir Singh Dosanjh Balbir Singh Dosanjh (31 December 1923 – 25 May 2020) was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952) (as vice captain), and Mel ...

, and Balbir Singh Junior. The newspaper went on to note that he would be "remembered as one of the key men responsible for India regaining its supremacy on the hockey field". He was a recipient of the

in 1963 and the

, India's fourth highest civilian honor, in 1964. After his retirement from the sport, he served as the dean of student welfare at

Punjab Agricultural University The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) is a public funded agricultural university located in Ludhiana district of Punjab. It is a state agricultural university in India. It was established in 1962 and is the nation's third-oldest agricultur ...

and later at the Hisar Agricultural University, before going on to become the director of sports at

Himachal Pradesh University Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) is an Indian public state university at Summer Hill in the state capital city Shimla. It is close to the vicinity of the Indian Institute of Advanced Study. It is wholly financed by the government of Himachal ...

Personal life

Singh was married and had two sons and a daughter. Singh died from a heart attack at his home in

Una, Himachal Pradesh Una is a Municipal Council City in Una district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of Una district. There are 11 wards under Municipal Council. Una City is home to the Kila, which is a historical fort and a ...

, on 27 January 2022, seven days before his 91st birthday. He had suffered a paralytic attack five years before his death. His wife had predeceased him 12 years earlier.

Explanatory notes

References

External links