Khajan Singh (also Khajan Singh Tokas) (born 6 May 1962) is an Indian swimmer, who remained national swimming champion of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, and won a silver medal at the

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986년 아시아 경기대회/1986년 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, 제10 ...

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. He was awarded an

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 ...

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

in 1984.

Early life and education

Born on 6 May 1964 in

Munirka Munirka is now an urban village in South West Delhi, located near Jawaharlal Nehru University and Indian Institute of Technology Delhi campuses. Originally it was a jat and brahmins village of Tokas, Rathi and mudgal Gotra. Munirka villager's l ...

village, Khajan went to study at the Government Senior Secondary School,

Sarojini Nagar Sarojini Nagar is a neighbourhood in South West Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was one of the sites of the 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings. It is close to Safdarjung Airport, starting 2010, it is serviced by the Sarojini Nagar on the n ...

, in Delhi.

Career

He made his debut in competitive swimming by winning five Gold Medals at the National School Championships in 1981-82. Six-Footer Khajana entered the National Aquatics Championship at Delhi in 1982 and outclassed all competitors by winning five Gold, two Silver and one Bronze. The following year at the Nationals in Trivandrum, he stroked his way to seven Gold, two Silver and one Bronze. Again in the National Aquatic Championship at Ahmedabad in 1987, he not only won seven Gold Medals but also created a national record in the 100 metres freestyle with a timing of 55.21 seconds, breaking his own record of 55.34 seconds set in the

1984 South Asian Games The 1984 South Asian Games (or 1st SAF Games) was the first edition of South Asian Games. It was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 17 to 23 September 1984. The number of disciplines were restricted to five only. India topped the medal tally, winning ...

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. He was the undisputed king at the 1988 Nationals at Calcutta making an unprecedented haul of eight individual Gold, five of them gleaming with the additional lustre of new records. He also contributed to a Silver and a Bronze for the police relay team. The ace swimmer, master free style and Arjuna Awardee of 1984, Khajan scored Silver at the

in Seoul in 200m Butterfly. That was the first time since 1951 that India won a medal at the Asiad. The next medal in swimming came 24 years later, when

Virdhawal Khade Virdhawal Vikram Khade (born 29 August 1991) ( mr, विरधवल खाडे) is an Indian swimmer. He competed in the men's 50, 100, and 200 meters Freestyle swimming events at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, setting an Indian nat ...

won a bronze in the same event at

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

. His most outstanding international performance was at the South Asian Federation Games (now known South Asian Games), where he won Gold Medals at Kathmandu in 1984 and seven at

2004 South Asian Games The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the Un ...

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

in 1989. He won a Bronze at the 1988

Asian Swimming Championships The Asian Swimming Championships are a major aquatics event, held every four years among the athletes from Asian countries. It is conducted under the governance of the Asian Amateur Swimming Federation,Singapore to host 7th Asian Swimming Championsh ...

in Beijing and a Silver in the 100 metre butterfly at the world Police Games in 1988. Khajan represented India in the 12th

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

at Brisbane in 1982, IXth Asian Games at Delhi in 1982, 2nd Asian Swimming Championship at Seoul in 1984, friendly International Game at Moscow in 1984. Coached by Australian coach Eric Arnold, Khajan Singh even took part in the 1988 Olympic at Seoul. Starting a sports officer in his early career, he presently D.I.G. with the

Central Reserve Police Force The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a federal police organisation in India under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) of the Government of India. It is one among the Central Armed Police Forces. The CRPF's primary role li ...

(CRPF).

Personal life

He runs the "Khajan Singh Swimming Academy", located near the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...

(JNU) campus in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. In 2010, he along with leading sport persons of the past took part in the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports tableau on Commonwealth Games – Delhi 2010, at the 61st Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

References

External links

*
Khajan Singh Profile

Khajan Singh Swimming Academy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Khajan Living people Indian male swimmers Recipients of the Arjuna Award 1964 births Commonwealth Games competitors for India Swimmers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Olympic swimmers of India Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Indian police officers Swimmers from Delhi Asian Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 1986 Asian Games Swimmers at the 1990 Asian Games Asian Games silver medalists for India Male butterfly swimmers Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games South Asian Games gold medalists for India South Asian Games medalists in swimming 20th-century Indian people 21st-century Indian people