Satpal Singh (born 1 February 1955), also known as Guru Satpal, is a wrestling coach and former wrestler 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 ...

. He was a Gold Medalist in

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 ...

and a Bronze medalist in

1974 Asian Games The 7th Asian Games ( fa, بازی‌های آسیایی ۱۹۷۴) were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for th ...

. Today he is better known as the coach of

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medal winners

Sushil Kumar Sushil Kumar Solanki (born 26 May 1983) is a former Indian wrestler. He carried the Indian flag at the opening ceremony of 2012 London Olympics. His 2008 Olympic medal was second for India in wrestling, and the first since Khashaba Dadasaheb Ja ...

and Ravi Kumar Dahiya. He was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award of India, in 2015.

Biography

Satpal was born on 1 February 1955 in Bawana village 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 ...

. He was coached by the famous wrestling coach

Guru Hanuman Guru Hanuman actual name Vijay Pal Yadav (1901–1999) was a legendary wrestling coach of India who coached many medal-winning wrestlers. He was awarded the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 1987, the highest recognition for a sports coach in In ...

Hanuman Akhara Guru Hanuman actual name Vijay Pal Yadav (1901–1999) was a legendary wrestling coach of India who coached many medal-winning wrestlers. He was awarded the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 1987, the highest recognition for a sports coach in In ...

, Delhi. He was Indian national champion for 16 years. He achieved international success at commonwealth games winning 3 silver medals in 1974, 1978 and 1982 commonwealth games. In Asian Games too, he improved his performance at successive games, winning a bronze in 1974, a silver in 1978 and peaked with a gold in 1982. Satpal was also good in traditional kushti. He won several titles like Bharat Kumar (1973), Rustom-e-Hind (1974 and 1975), Bharat Kesari (1975), Rustom-e-Bharat (1975), Maha Bharat Kesari (1976), Mahan Bharat Kesari (1976), Rustom-e-Zaman (1976), Hind Kesari (1977), Bharat Shri (1978) and Bharat Balram (1979). Satpal now works as Assistant Director of Education, Delhi. He is also the Chief Patron of School Games Federation of India. He runs an ''

Akhada Akhara or Akhada (Sanskrit and Hindi: अखाड़ा, shortened to ''khara'' Hindi: खाड़ा) is an Indian word for a place of practice with facilities for boarding, lodging and training, both in the context of Indian martial artists o ...

'' for coaching of wrestling with fellow coach Virender Singh from 1988 in Chhatrasal Stadium in

. He trained two time

medal winner,

for the Beijing Olympics 2008 and London Olympics 2012. He was awarded

Dronacharya Award The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a ch ...

in 2009 by the

Indian Government The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the Government, national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy lo ...

. He was earlier conferred 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 1974 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, ...

in 1983.

Awards and achievements

* 1974:

Arjun 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 ...

(

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

) * 1983:

* 2009:

* National Heavyweight Champion 16 times. * 2015: Padma Bhushan

Participation

Wrestling at the 1980 Summer Olympics - Men's freestyle 100 kg Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sports ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Satpal Olympic wrestlers of India Indian wrestling coaches 1955 births Living people People from Delhi Wrestlers at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Wrestlers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1980 Summer Olympics Indian male sport wrestlers Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Recipients of the Arjuna Award Recipients of the Dronacharya Award Asian Games gold medalists for India Sport wrestlers from Delhi Asian Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1974 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 1978 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 1982 Asian Games Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in sports Asian Games silver medalists for India Asian Games bronze medalists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in wrestling Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games