Prithipal Singh was a full-back who scored goals like a centre forward. His penalty-corner hits made him the leading scorer at three Olympic hockey tournaments in a row, and he came home from those Games with a full set of medals: silver in 1960, gold in 1964 and bronze in 1968. He was the first hockey player to receive the Arjuna Award.
Name: Prithipal Singh
Born: 28 January 1932, Nankana Sahib (now in Pakistan)
Died: 20 May 1983, Ludhiana
Sport: Hockey
Position: Full-back
Early years
Prithipal Singh was born in Nankana Sahib on 28 January 1932. His family moved to India after Partition and he grew up in Punjab, where he studied agriculture. He came into the national side as a full-back, but his real weapon was the short corner, then a standard hit rather than the drag flick of today. He hit the ball very hard and very low, and goalkeepers of the time had little answer to it.
Rome 1960: silver
His first Olympics came at Rome in 1960. India reached the final but lost 1-0 to Pakistan, ending the run of six straight Olympic titles. Prithipal finished as the tournament’s top scorer.
Tokyo 1964: gold
India took the title back at Tokyo four years later, beating Pakistan 1-0 in the final. Prithipal was again the leading scorer at the Games, and his penalty corners were a large part of India’s attack throughout the tournament. In between he won Asian Games silver in Jakarta in 1962 and was part of the team that won gold in Bangkok in 1966.
Mexico 1968: bronze
At Mexico City in 1968 he shared the captaincy with Gurbux Singh. India lost to Australia in the semi-final, the first time India had failed to reach an Olympic hockey final, and then beat West Germany for bronze. Prithipal topped the scoring list for a third straight Olympics.
Honours and later life
He received the Arjuna Award in 1961, the first hockey player to be given it, and the Padma Shri in 1967. After his playing career he worked at Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, where he was dean of student welfare. He was shot dead on the university campus on 20 May 1983, aged 51.
Career record and honours
- Olympic gold medal: Tokyo 1964
- Olympic silver medal: Rome 1960
- Olympic bronze medal (joint captain): Mexico City 1968
- Top scorer at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Olympic hockey tournaments
- Asian Games gold medal: Bangkok 1966
- Asian Games silver medal: Jakarta 1962
- Arjuna Award (1961), the first given to a hockey player
- Padma Shri (1967)
