Rajpal Singh (born 8 August 1983) is a former captain of
India national hockey team. He plays from the forward (front line) position. He is an
Arjuna Award winner. He is a graduate from Chandigarh’s SGGS Khalsa College and a product of
Shivalik Public School. Rajpal Singh hogged the limelight with a sterling show at his first international outing at the 2001 Youth Asia Cup. India won the Cup at
Ipoh,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, where he was the ‘Player of the Tournament’, with seven goals. Rajpal Singh was in the news before the home world cup, as he unitedly led his team's fight for its rights with the hockey administrators.
Career
Beginning
Younger son of a retired policeman, Rajpal represented
Chandigarh
Chandigarh () is a planned city in India. Chandigarh is bordered by the state of Punjab to the west and the south, and by the state of Haryana to the east. It constitutes the bulk of the Chandigarh Capital Region or Greater Chandigarh, which a ...
in Junior Nationals. After the Hobart Junior World Cup gold, he joined
Indian Oil Corporation. A long wait for his senior debut ended when, under the tutelage of
Rajinder Singh Jr., he travelled to the 2005
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
He succeeded Deepak Thakur at the right wing.
In fall 2007, he played in the German second division (2. Bundesliga) for
Marienburger SC,
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
. In the first round, he scored four times. With
Adrian D'Souza
Adrian Albert D'souza (born 24 March 1984 in Mumbai, Maharashtra) is an Indian field hockey goalkeeper, who made his international debut for the men's national team in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lump ...
, Bimal Lakra and William Xalco, there played four Indians for this club. Rajpal was one of many Indians in 2007 who played in Germany in preparation for the Olympic Games 2008 in China.
2010
FIH World Cup
He became captain of national team after replacing
Sandeep Singh
Sandeep Singh (born 27 February 1986) is an Indian professional field hockey player from Haryana and an ex-captain of the Indian national hockey team. He generally features as a full back and is a penalty corner specialist for the team. He ...
just before the
FIH world cup 2010 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 Ho ...
but India finished 8th.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
Under the captaincy of Rajpal, the Indian team regained their title as they emerged joint winners along with
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
in a rain-affected final at the 19th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. In one of the group matches, the Indian team defeated the Australian team 4–3.
Commonwealth Games
Under his captaincy, the Indian team entered into semifinal of
Commonwealth Games, Delhi after defeating
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
by 7-4. It persuaded against the
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the semifinals to be the first team to make sure of a medal for India in
CWG Hockey history. But the final was a washout with India going down 8-0 against the mighty
Australia.
Asian Hockey Champions Trophy
He captained the Indian team to the inaugural
2011 Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy, which India won by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final.
But Rajpal was removed as the captain on 30 September and was replaced by goalkeeper
Bharat Chhetri. It is believed that his demotion was imminent as he had led the team's revolt against the federation for giving meager rewards after the Champion's Trophy triumph.
Premier Hockey League
Rajpal leads hugely popular Chandigarh Dynamos in the
PHL.
Rajpal, a PPS officer is currently serving in the Punjab Police as a Superintendent of Police.
Personal life
He married Indian
sport shooter
Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such as ...
Avneet Sidhu
Avneet Kaur Sidhu (Bathinda, 30 October 1981) is an Indian sport shooter. She won the gold medal in the Women's 10m Air Rifle (Pairs) with Tejaswini Sawant at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. She contested in the 10 m air rifle and 50 m rifle thr ...
in 2013, and the couple have one child.
imes of India, 15 September 2011.
World Series Hockey
Rajpal leads the Delhi Wizards in the WSH 2012.
Awards
In 2011, Rajpal received the prestigious Arjuna Award for excellence in the field of hockey.
References
External links
Indian Hockey Captain - Striker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rajpal
Living people
Field hockey players from Chandigarh
Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Asian Games medalists in field hockey
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
1983 births
World Series Hockey players
Field hockey players at the 2006 Asian Games
Field hockey players at the 2010 Asian Games
Indian male field hockey players
Asian Games bronze medalists for India
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India
Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey
Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games
Delhi Waveriders players
Hockey India League players
Field hockey players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
2006 Men's Hockey World Cup players
2010 Men's Hockey World Cup players
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games