Ajit Pal Singh wins IDFC Lifetime Achievement award at Sportstar Aces 2022

Ajit Pal played in the first three editions of the men’s hockey World Cup and bagged a bronze and a silver in 1971 and 1973 before leading the Indian side to its only World Cup gold medal in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.

World Cup winner and Olympian Ajit Pal Singh speaking after being honoured with the IDFC Lifetime Achievement Award by Sunil Gavaskar and MM Somaya during the Sportstar Aces in Mumbai on Saturday. Mr. Balakrishnan Madhivanan, Chief Operating Officer, IDFC First Bank (extreme right) was also present.

Ajit Pal Singh won the IDFC Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Sportstar Aces Awards, which was held at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai.

Hailing from the famous nursery of hockey, Sansarpur in Punjab, Ajit Pal was part of the Indian teams that won bronze medals in the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. Ajit Pal played in the first three editions of the men’s hockey World Cup and bagged a bronze and a silver in 1971 and 1973 before leading the Indian side to its only World Cup gold medal in 1975 in Kuala Lumpur.

"Thank you very much, Mr Sunil Gavaskar, Chairman of the jury. I must thank Sportstar. We used to have Sports and Pastime during my time. I was very lucky I also had some pictures in that magazine. That inspired me to do well and I tried my best. We are sitting as sporting family. We are seeing big corporates like Reliance, IOC promoting sports. We need more corporates to support sports," Ajit Pal said. Mr. Balakrishnan Madhivanan, Chief Operating Officer, IDFC First Bank was also present.

"If you put your children to sports, I am sure they will get stronger. Sports can groom somebody into a good human being. We have really made India proud recently and I am especially proud of the hockey team. They have broken the jinx i am sure they will keep doing well. They have to go higher up the ladder."

 

Ajit Pal, a well-known midfielder of his time, was also a member of the Indian teams that claimed silver medals in the 1970 and 1974 Asian Games. A three-time Olympian (1968, 1972, 1976), Ajit Pal was appointed the chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent for the 2012 London Olympics (even though he could not perform the job due to poor health).

He was the first sportsperson from the country to get such an opportunity. He also performed administrative jobs in different sports organisations. He was honoured with Arjuna and Padma Shri awards.

Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, former India hockey captain M. M. Somaya, chess great Viswanathan Anand, former India football skipper Bhaichung Bhutia and Olympians Anjali Bhagwat and Aparna Popat are the members of the Sportstar Aces 2022 jury.