Ajit Pal Singh Kular (also spelled Ajitpal Singh, born 1 April 1947[2]) was an Indian professional field hockey player from Sansarpur, Punjab. He was the captain of the Indian hockey team. He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1970, and awarded it in 1972. He played at centre half position. He was captain of the Indian team at the Hockey World Cup 1975 held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He represented India in three Olympics from 1968 through 1976, winning bronze medals in his first two Olympic Games.[3] He was appointed India's chef de mission for 2012 Summer Olympics. It was the first time that a sports person was given this opportunity, as earlier this position went to either politicians or administrators.[4] However he could not make it to the event due to severe spondylitis.[5] Seven member IOA, Indian Olympic Association Committee selected in April 2012 Ajit Pal Singh as Chef de Mission for Indian mission in London 2012 Olympics. He is also at present the organising member of All India Balwant Singh Kapur Hockey Tournament for Mata Parkash Kaur Cup held every year for school boys under-16. He is a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri (1992).[6]
Singh was born on 1 April 1947 at Sansarpur, a small village near Jalandhar Cantonment of Punjab, which was famous as a breeding ground for the hockey stars as this village had been home to a number of international hockey players who had done the nation proud with their commendable performance in the game. As a young man he joined the newly raised Border Security Force(BSF) and captained the Hockey team of BSF. Under his captaincy BSF hockey team lifted the Nehru Trophy in 1975. He left the force as an Assistant Commandant.
Ajit Pal Singh with team members In 2008-09
Domestic hockeyedit
At the age of 7 or 8 years, little Ajit had been handed over a hockey stick by his uncle. He studied at the Cantonment Board Higher Secondary School, Jalandhar Cantonment and at the age of 16 years represented the Punjab State Schools Hockey team in 1963. During his initial days, Ajit used to play at the Full Back position. He moved to the Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar in 1964, and stayed there for a period of 4 years leading the college to 3 victories in the Punjab University College tournament. It was here that Ajit shifted from Full Back to Center Half, his real position. He was named the Captain of Punjab University Hockey team in 1966, and represented Indian Universities' Hockey team in 1968.
International hockeyedit
Ajit Pal Singh made his debut in International Hockey with a tournament played at Bombay in 1960. He was selected in the Indian Hockey team that visited Japan in 1966, and participated in the Pre-Olympic tournament held in London the next year. Further, he played in the Olympic Games Mexico 1968 and delivered a brilliant performance although the Indian Hockey squad stood at 3rd spot at the event. Ajit played for the Indian Hockey team at Bangkok Asian Games 1970, and was named the Captain of the Indian squad that played at Post Shuan Tournament held at Singapore in 1971, and Tehran Asian Games 1974. The Indian team managed to grab a Silver Medal at both the events. He was a part of the Indian squad at Munich Olympic Games 1972, where the team finished at 3rd spot getting a Bronze Medal. He led the Indian Hockey team to World Cup Hockey tournament held at Kuala Lumpur in 1975 leading the team to win the tournament and also at Montreal Olympic Games 1976 where the Indian team fared really badly and finished at the 7th spot. After this debacle, Ajit Pal Singh retired from International Hockey, although he participated in his last International Hockey event in 1980 at Champions Trophy Tournament, Karachi. Even after his retirement from International Hockey, Ajit continued to play in Domestic Hockey Circuit for Border Security Force (B.S.F.) team.
Awardsedit
As an honour for his outstanding contribution to Indian Hockey, Ajit Pal Singh was conferred upon the Arjuna Award in 1970. Further, he was also bestowed upon the Padma Shri award in 1992.[6]
^. Archived from the original on 16 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
^Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. . Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
^"Ajit Pal Singh named Indian Chef-de-Mission". Deccan Herald. 2 April 2012. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
^"Brigadier Raja named India's acting Chef-de-Mission". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 27 July 2012.
^ ab(PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
ajit, singh, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, talk,. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Ajit Pal Singh news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2012 Learn how and when to remove this message Ajit Pal Singh Kular also spelled Ajitpal Singh born 1 April 1947 2 was an Indian professional field hockey player from Sansarpur Punjab He was the captain of the Indian hockey team He was conferred the Arjuna Award in 1970 and awarded it in 1972 He played at centre half position He was captain of the Indian team at the Hockey World Cup 1975 held in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Ajit Pal SinghPersonal informationFull nameAjit Pal Singh KularBorn 1947 04 01 1 April 1947 age 77 Sansarpur Punjab IndiaHeight5 ft 10 in 1 78 m 1 Playing positionHalfbackMedal record Men s field hockey Representing India Olympic Games 1968 Mexico City Team 1972 Munich Team Hockey World Cup 1975 Kuala Lumpur Team 1973 Amsterdam Team 1971 Barcelona Team Asian Games 1970 Bangkok Team 1974 Tehran Team He represented India in three Olympics from 1968 through 1976 winning bronze medals in his first two Olympic Games 3 He was appointed India s chef de mission for 2012 Summer Olympics It was the first time that a sports person was given this opportunity as earlier this position went to either politicians or administrators 4 However he could not make it to the event due to severe spondylitis 5 Seven member IOA Indian Olympic Association Committee selected in April 2012 Ajit Pal Singh as Chef de Mission for Indian mission in London 2012 Olympics He is also at present the organising member of All India Balwant Singh Kapur Hockey Tournament for Mata Parkash Kaur Cup held every year for school boys under 16 He is a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri 1992 6 Contents 1 Early life 2 Domestic hockey 3 International hockey 4 Awards 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksEarly life editSingh was born on 1 April 1947 at Sansarpur a small village near Jalandhar Cantonment of Punjab which was famous as a breeding ground for the hockey stars as this village had been home to a number of international hockey players who had done the nation proud with their commendable performance in the game As a young man he joined the newly raised Border Security Force BSF and captained the Hockey team of BSF Under his captaincy BSF hockey team lifted the Nehru Trophy in 1975 He left the force as an Assistant Commandant nbsp Ajit Pal Singh with team members In 2008 09Domestic hockey editAt the age of 7 or 8 years little Ajit had been handed over a hockey stick by his uncle He studied at the Cantonment Board Higher Secondary School Jalandhar Cantonment and at the age of 16 years represented the Punjab State Schools Hockey team in 1963 During his initial days Ajit used to play at the Full Back position He moved to the Lyallpur Khalsa College Jalandhar in 1964 and stayed there for a period of 4 years leading the college to 3 victories in the Punjab University College tournament It was here that Ajit shifted from Full Back to Center Half his real position He was named the Captain of Punjab University Hockey team in 1966 and represented Indian Universities Hockey team in 1968 International hockey editAjit Pal Singh made his debut in International Hockey with a tournament played at Bombay in 1960 He was selected in the Indian Hockey team that visited Japan in 1966 and participated in the Pre Olympic tournament held in London the next year Further he played in the Olympic Games Mexico 1968 and delivered a brilliant performance although the Indian Hockey squad stood at 3rd spot at the event Ajit played for the Indian Hockey team at Bangkok Asian Games 1970 and was named the Captain of the Indian squad that played at Post Shuan Tournament held at Singapore in 1971 and Tehran Asian Games 1974 The Indian team managed to grab a Silver Medal at both the events He was a part of the Indian squad at Munich Olympic Games 1972 where the team finished at 3rd spot getting a Bronze Medal He led the Indian Hockey team to World Cup Hockey tournament held at Kuala Lumpur in 1975 leading the team to win the tournament and also at Montreal Olympic Games 1976 where the Indian team fared really badly and finished at the 7th spot After this debacle Ajit Pal Singh retired from International Hockey although he participated in his last International Hockey event in 1980 at Champions Trophy Tournament Karachi Even after his retirement from International Hockey Ajit continued to play in Domestic Hockey Circuit for Border Security Force B S F team Awards editAs an honour for his outstanding contribution to Indian Hockey Ajit Pal Singh was conferred upon the Arjuna Award in 1970 Further he was also bestowed upon the Padma Shri award in 1992 6 See also editList of Indian hockey captains in Olympics Field hockey in India India men s national field hockey teamReferences edit Player s Profile Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Sikh History com Archived from the original on 16 September 2015 Retrieved 28 September 2015 Evans Hilary Gjerde Arild Heijmans Jeroen Mallon Bill et al Ajitpal Singh Olympics at Sports Reference com Sports Reference LLC Archived from the original on 17 April 2020 Ajit Pal Singh named Indian Chef de Mission Deccan Herald 2 April 2012 Retrieved 16 June 2021 Brigadier Raja named India s acting Chef de Mission The Hindu Chennai India 27 July 2012 a b Padma Awards PDF Ministry of Home Affairs Government of India 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 15 October 2015 Retrieved 21 July 2015 External links editAjit Pal Singh at Olympedia nbsp Ajit Pal Singh at Olympics at Sports Reference com archived nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ajit Pal Singh amp oldid 1182513452, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
