PadamShri and Arjuna awardee Charanjit Singh had led India to a sensational victory in 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. His death is a big loss to Indian Hockey as he was an inspiration for young players in Himachal.
Charanjit Singh was a great admirer of three sporting legends of all time- Major Dhayan Chand, the hockey wizard, who had led Indian hockey teams to win three successive Gold in 1928, 1932, and 1936 Olympics, Soccer legend Pele and Cricket wizard Don Bradman.
Charanjit Singh had batted for honouring Major Dhayan Chand with Bharat Ratna saying that it would give a big boost to sports mainly hockey in India.
He had lamented that the rules and regulations in hockey had been changed in favour of European style and speed. which is now name of the game. These things have put the "style and skill" of Indian and Pakistan hockey to a disadvantage, he used to say, recalled his fans. .
Charanjit Singh is survived by his son Er. Vipan Pal Singh, who has retired as MD, HP Transmission Corporation Ltd and daughter, Dr Kiran Guleria, who is married to Dr Randeep Singh Guleria, Director AIIMS, New Delhi.
in 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Charanjit Singh scripted victory in the annals of Indian Hockey. Other members of the winning team were Shankar Laxman, Rajendran Christy, Prithipal Singh, Dharam Singh, Gurbaksh Singh, Mohinder Lal, Jagjit Singh, Jogindar Singh, Haripal Kaushik, Harbinder Singh, Bandu Patil, Victor John Peter, Udham Singh, Darshan Singh and Syed Mushtaq. Very few of them have survived till today and Charanjeet Singh was one of them, revealed the Hockey enthusiasts.
India had defeated the defending champion Pakistan by 1-0 goal in a cliff-hanging final in Tokyo in 1964. It was for the first time that Australia had won its first Olympic medal in Hockey claiming bronze by defeating Spain by 3- 2 goals in the extra time, recalled the Hockey old timers.
After this, Indian hockey went into a bad phase. It was in 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics that India won the Gold medal defeating Spain by 4-3 goals. This till now remains the last Gold for Indian Hockey.
Charanjit had also joined Director, Sports and Students Welfare Himachal Pradesh University till his retirement.
All of his close relatives - Prof Vijayvir Singh(retd), who was his real maternal nephew and Dr Kuldip Singh Tanwar a CPM leader, Bhupendra Kunwar, Kunwar Yogendra Singh and Er Manmohan Singh Verma- who live in Engine Ghar and Sankti in Sanjauli have expressed their grief over the death of the hockey legend. "The death of my Mamaji marks an end of of an era, but his legacy will continue inspiring the coming generations", said Prof Dogra.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union Information and Broadcasting Youth affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur have expressed their grief over the demise of the former captain and sympathy with the bereaved family members of the former Indian hockey captain.
