Charanjit Singh was born on 3 February 1931 in Mayri village of the Amb subdivision of the Una district of Himachal Pradesh. Charanjit Singh was an Indian field hockey player. After his good performance, Singh became the captain of the Indian hockey team. His team won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Charanjit Singh was also a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta. Singh was awarded the Arjuna Award by the Government of India in 1963. And in 1964 he was honored with the Padma Shri award.
Charanjit Singh Early Life
Singh lived with his family in Una. He is survived by his wife 2 sons and a daughter. His wife had died 10 years before him. Singh died of a heart attack on 27 January 2022 at his home in Una, Himachal Pradesh. Charanjit Singh completed his schooling at Khalsa School in Gurdaspur and Lyallpur. He also studied at Singh Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun. After that, he did his college in Ludhiana Government Agriculture, and he obtained the degree of B.Sc. He had a keen interest in hockey and developed his interest in hockey at a very young age. In school, he was a member of its hockey team.
He first played for Punjab University in 1949. In the year 1950, he was the captain of the team. Joined the Punjab Police in 1950. In 1958, Charanjit Singh became the captain of the Punjab State team. After this, he was included in the national team. In the year 1959, he was a member of the Indian national hockey team in Europe.
Career and Award
Charanjit Singh started his career after joining the Punjab Police. In 1950, he was selected for the Indian team. He played as a midfielder in the team. His good performance made him the captain of the Indian hockey team. He won the gold medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He is given the credit for returning the gold medal. In the 1962 Asian Games, the country lost to Pakistan in the final.
Charanjit Singh was injured. The injury forced him to sit out the final against arch-rivals Pakistan. Because of this, he could not play in the final against Pakistan. Pakistan beat 1–0 in the final. India remembers Singh’s game even today. After his illustrious hockey career, he worked as the Director of the Department of Physical Education at the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla. The whole of India is happy with his brilliant performance. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1963. And was honored with the Padma Shri award in 1964.
