Randhir Singh (born 18 October 1946) is an Indian sports administrator and a former Olympic-level

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

and

skeet shooter Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles. Skeet is one of the ...

. Singh is one of India's most influential sports administrators and is noted for his wide-ranging international connections. He has held many roles in his sports administration career. Singh is the Acting President of the

Olympic Council of Asia The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) is a governing body of sports in Asia, currently with 45 member National Olympic Committees. The current Acting President is Raja Randhir Singh, substituting Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah. The headquarter ...

(OCA), beginning his term on 11 September 2021. His other roles in international sports administration include being a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

(IOC) from 2001 to 2014 and since 2014, he has been an honorary member of the IOC. He has also served as the Secretary General of the OCA from 1991–2015. In domestic sports administration, his roles have included being the Secretary General of the

Indian Olympic Association The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) or Indian Olympic Committee (IOC) is the body responsible for selecting athletes to represent India at the Olympic Games, Asian Games and other international athletic meets and for managing the Indian teams ...

(IOA) from 1987 to 2012 and a member of the governing board of the

Sports Authority of India The Sports Authority of India (SAI) is the apex national sports body of India, established in 1982 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of Government of India for the development of sports in India. SAI has 2 Sports Academic institution ...

from 1987-2010. Singh's achievements during his shooting career include competing in five

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

and becoming the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in the

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 ...

, which he did at the

1978 Asian Games The 8th Asian Games () were held from 9 to 20 December 1978, in Bangkok, Thailand. Originally, the host city was Singapore but Singapore dropped its plan to host the Games due to financial problems. Then Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was de ...

. He received the

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 1979 for his achievements in shooting. Singh began his sports administration career in 1984 and was still an active shooter at the time, before retring from shooting in 1994.

Background and early life

Randhir Singh was born on 18 October 1946, in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

, Punjab Province,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He is the son of

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

Bhalindra Singh Raja Bhalindra Singh (9 October 1919 – 16 April 1992) was an Indian first class cricketer and Maharajkumar of Patiala State, Patiala. His father was Maharaja Bhupinder Singh and his brother, Yadavindra Singh, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, played ...

, a younger son of

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Bhupinder Singh of

. Singh comes from a family of influential sports administrators. His uncle, Maharaja

Yadavindra Singh Maharaja Sir Yadavindra Singh () was the 9th and last ruling Maharaja of Patiala from 1938 to 1971. He was also an Indian cricketer who played in one Test in 1934. Early life and family Born at Patiala City in Patiala State, within the ...

, played an important part in lobbying for and then organizing the first

in 1951 in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

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 ...

. His father, Bhalindra, was a member of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

from 1947 to 1992, President of the

from 1960 to 1975 and 1990–1984, and was crucial in bringing the

1982 Asian Games The 9th Asian Games ( hi, 1982 एशियाई खेल) were held from 19 November to 4 December 1982, in Delhi, India. 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken at the event. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of ...

to Delhi. Singh was educated at Yadvindra Public School, in

and graduated from

St. Stephen's College, Delhi St. Stephen's College is a constituent college of the University of Delhi, widely regarded as one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges for arts and sciences in India. It was established in 1881 by the Cambridge Mission to Delhi. The college ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

Shooting career

Singh made his competitive senior shooting debut as an eighteen-year-old, when he was part of the winning

trap shooting Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. They are disting ...

team at the Indian National Championships in 1964. His team defended the title the next year, and he won his first national individual title in 1967 in

skeet shooting Skeet shooting is a recreational and competitive activity where participants use shotguns to attempt to break clay targets which two fixed stations mechanically fling into the air at high speed and at a variety of angles. Skeet is one of the t ...

. He went on to win multiple titles at the national level in both skeet and trap shooting. He became the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in the

, which he did during the

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Singh received the

in 1979. During the

in Delhi, Singh and his team won a silver medal. From 1968 to 1984, Singh competed at five

in mixed trap. He was the second Indian, after Karni Singh, to compete at five Olympics. His best Olympic performance was 17th at the 1968 Olympics, two points behind Karni Singh and four points from bronze. He has also competed at four Asian Games, winning a medal of each color. His last international competition was the

1994 Asian Games The 1994 Asian Games ( ja, 1994年アジア競技大会, ''Senkyūhyakukyūjūyon-nen Ajia kyōgi taikai''), also known as the XII Asiad and the 12th Asian Games ( ja, 第12回アジア競技大会, Daijūni-kai Ajia kyōgi taikai), were held from ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Singh, who had been the Secretary General of the

(OCA) since 1991, became the first person to compete in the Asian Games while being an office bearer in a continental sports organisation.

Sports administrator

IOC President Thomas Bach with Randhir Singh and Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, in 2017

Singh is known to be one of India's most influential sports administrators and was an influential member of the

(IOC) during his time as a full member of the organisation. Singh began his sports administration career in 1984, when he was elected to the

(IOA) as a joint secretary. He was elected to the IOC during the 112th IOC session in 2001, which was held in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia. In the election, he received 101 votes, which was the highest amongst all the candidates. Singh served as a member of the IOC from 2001 to 2014, and has been an honorary member of the IOC since 2014. Randhir Singh and Timothy Fok

Singh has also served as the Secretary General of the IOA from 1987 to 2012, a member of the governing board of the

from 1987-2010, the Secretary General of OCA from 1991 to 2015, the Life Vice President of the OCA from 2015 to 2021 and is serving as the Acting President of the OCA since 2021. He has also been a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Foundation Board from 2003 to 2005, and is a member of the Association of National Olympic Committees Executive Board since 2002. Singh has served on the following commissions: Olympic Games Study from 2002 to 2003, Sport for All since 2004, Women and Sport since 2006, Coordination for the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in 2010 and the Olympic Truce Foundation since 2007. He was the Founder Secretary General of the Afro-Asian Games Council from 1998 to 2007, and helped lead the organization of the only

Afro-Asian Games The Afro-Asian Games were the series of inter-continental multi-sport competitions, held between athletes from Asia and Africa. These Games are one-of-a-kind, since no other sporting competition brings athletes from these two continents together ...

in Hyderabad in 2003.

2010 Commonwealth Games

Singh was instrumental in bringing the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

to India, and had been the Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee. He has been the only senior office bearer of the controversial Organizing Committee who has a clean image. During the planning of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Singh and

Suresh Kalmadi Suresh Kalmadi (born 1 May 1944) is an Indian politician who spent 10 months in jail from April 2011 to January 2012 on corruption charges related to his time in charge of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. He was accused of awarding a con ...

, President of the IOA at the time, clashed over the planning of the games. Reportedly, the clashes had reach the extent where

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

, who was the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

at the time, had to be informed by the head of the

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 ...

, Mike Fennell. Randhir Singh with Prince Faisal bin Hussein and Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud

Olympic Council of Asia

Singh has served as the Secretary General of the OCA from 1991 to 2015. In 2019, the General Assembly of the OCA appointed Singh as the chairman of coordination committee of

2022 Asian Games The 2022 Asian Games (), officially known as the 19th Asian Games (), also known as Hangzhou 2022, ( zh, c=杭州2022, p=Hángzhōu Èr líng èr èr), will be a multi-sport event celebrated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Hangzhou will be the t ...

, which are being held in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Acting presidency (2021-present)

In September 2021, Singh was appointed as the Acting President of the OCA, and the OCA's headquarters is in

Kuwait City Kuwait City ( ar, مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, ...

. He was appointed as the Acting President of the OCA after

Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ( ar, احمد الفهد الاحمد الجابر الصباح; born 12 August 1963), also known as Ahmad Al-Fahad, is a Kuwaiti politician and sports administrator who is the former president of ...

stepped aside as president following a guilty verdict against him by a Geneva Court in a forgery case. In May 2022, after the OCA Executive Board meeting in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

, he stated that the 2022 Asian Games have been postponed to 2023 due to China's COVID-19 related complications. In October 2022, Singh in the OCA General Assembly meeting in

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, said that the state of the OCA has now normalised post the COVID-19 pandemic. At the 2022 OCA General Assembly, Singh was one of the signatories that signed the contract to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, which will be held in Trojena, in

NEOM Neom (styled NEOM; ''Neom,'' ) is a city being built in Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia. It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and function as a tourist destination. The site is north of the Red Sea, east of Egypt acro ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

. Also in October 2022, Singh spoke at the OCA's first-ever Gender Equity Seminar in

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

. Singh, as the Acting President of the OCA, attended the 11th Olympic Summit in December 2022, which was held in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland. During the summit, there was an intense debate regarding the participation of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and Belarusian athletes in international competitions. The IOC mentioned that it had not invited athletes from the

National Olympic Committees A National Olympic Committee (NOC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Olympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Olympic Committee, NOCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the Olympic Games ...

(NOCs) of both countries as protective measures, due to concerns about interference from some governments that can decide which athletes participate in international competitions and concerns about guaranteeing the safety of athletes from the two countries, because of the

Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

. During the debate, Singh argued that the reasons for the protective measures do not exist in any longer in Asia. He further argued that the OCA has offered to facilitate the particaption of athletes from both countries in competitions within Asia that are under the OCA's authority, and at the same time, comply with the sanctions that are in place on Russia and Belarus due to the war. The Olympic Summit unanimously agreed to further look into the OCA's proposal.

Awards

- 1979 *

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award The Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award, is an award given by the Government of Punjab for excellence and achievement in the service of Punjab in the field of Sport. This can be at the Olympic level, World Championship level, national and other internat ...

- 1979 * Merit Award from OCA - 2005 * Merit Award from ANOC -2006 * Olympic Order, Silver - 2014 * Honorary Doctorate of literature from Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Government of India

Personal life

Singh has been married twice. His first marriage was to Rani Uma Kumari of Sirmur. His second marriage is to Vinita Singh. Vinita is the eldest child and only daughter of business magnate, Vipin Khanna. Singh has 3 daughters; Mahima, Sunaina and Rajeshwari. Sunaina Kumari is one of the vice-presidents of the Indian Olympic Association. Rajeshwari Kumari is a sports shooter and fashion designer. Rajeshwari is Singh's daughter through his second marriage with Vinita.

References

External links

*
Sports-Reference Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Randhir 1946 births Living people Indian Sikhs People from Patiala Sportspeople from Patiala St. Stephen's College, Delhi alumni Indian male sport shooters Trap and double trap shooters Skeet shooters Olympic shooters of India Shooters at the 1968 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1972 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1976 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1980 Summer Olympics Shooters at the 1984 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games gold medalists for India Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Asian Games medalists in shooting Shooters at the 1978 Asian Games Shooters at the 1982 Asian Games Shooters at the 1986 Asian Games Shooters at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Commonwealth Games competitors for India Shooters at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Khanna family International Olympic Committee members Sport shooters from Punjab, India Sports executives and administrators Indian sports executives and administrators World Anti-Doping Agency members