Name of the sportsperson: Kunwar Digvijay Singh

Date Of Birth: February 2, 1922

State: Uttar Pradesh

Discipline: Hockey

Achievements:

• K.D. Singh Babu received the Helms Trophy in 1953 for being the best hockey player in the world (1952) and the best sportsman of Asia (1953). This was the first time an Indian was awarded the Helms Trophy - America's Nobel Prize in sport given to the best athlete from each continent.

• In 1958 he was awarded the prestigious Padmashri award by the Government of India

Honours:

The stadiums in Barabanki and Lucknow are named after him. The stadium at Lucknow is known as the K. D. Singh Babu Stadium.

Profile:

Kunwar Digvijay Singh born in Barabanki, Lucknow is popularly known as "K.D.Singh 'Babu'", was an Indian field hockey player. Babu's artistry, craftsmanship and creative instincts saw him blossom into one of the finest inside-rights that India has ever produced. His ball and body control was instinctive, a sort of sixth sense.

He was first selected to All India Hockey Team in 1946-47 for the tour to Afghanistan. He played in as a vice-captain in the 1948 Olympic Games. He captained Indian gold medal-winning team at 1952. The Indian team won a gold medal on both occasions. The 1948 outing was the first Olympic participation of India as an independent nation, which made the gold medal victory a very important achievement for the nascent nation even though it had won the Olympic gold in 1928, 1932 and 1936.

He later served as the coach for Indian hockey team for the 1972 Munich Olympics. K.D. Singh Babu was a member of numerous organisations that include All India Council of Sports, Railway Board, Rifle Association of India and Wild Life Protection Committee of Uttar Pradesh.
On March 27, 1978, he committed suicide due to being bothered by personal problems.