Rajpal Singh (born 8 August 1983) is a former captain of India national hockey team. He plays from the forward (front line) position. He is an

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...

winner. He is a graduate from Chandigarh’s SGGS Khalsa College and a product of Shivalik Public School. Rajpal Singh hogged the limelight with a sterling show at his first international outing at the 2001 Youth Asia Cup. India won the Cup at

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, Malaysia, where he was the ‘Player of the Tournament’, with seven goals. Rajpal Singh was in the news before the home world cup, as he unitedly led his team's fight for its rights with the hockey administrators.

Career

Beginning

Younger son of a retired policeman, Rajpal represented Chandigarh in Junior Nationals. After the Hobart Junior World Cup gold, he joined

Indian Oil Corporation Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL; d/b/a IndianOil) is a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. It is headquartered in New Delhi. It is a public sector unde ...

. A long wait for his senior debut ended when, under the tutelage of

Rajinder Singh Jr. Rajinder Singh Jr. is an Indian field hockey coach and player. Birth and life Rajinder Singh Jr. was born on 13 May 1959 in Sarih village of Indian Punjab. He started playing field hockey in his childhood and developed an interest in this gam ...

, he travelled to the 2005

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998, following its growth and popularity. The ...

. He succeeded Deepak Thakur at the right wing. In fall 2007, he played in the German second division (2. Bundesliga) for Marienburger SC, Cologne. In the first round, he scored four times. With Adrian D'Souza, Bimal Lakra and William Xalco, there played four Indians for this club. Rajpal was one of many Indians in 2007 who played in Germany in preparation for the Olympic Games 2008 in China.

2010

FIH World Cup

He became captain of national team after replacing Sandeep Singh just before the FIH world cup 2010 in New Delhi but India finished 8th.

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup

Under the captaincy of Rajpal, the Indian team regained their title as they emerged joint winners along with Korea in a rain-affected final at the 19th edition of Sultan Azlan Shah Cup. In one of the group matches, the Indian team defeated the Australian team 4–3.

Commonwealth Games

Under his captaincy, the Indian team entered into semifinal of Commonwealth Games, Delhi after defeating Pakistan by 7-4. It persuaded against the England in the semifinals to be the first team to make sure of a medal for India in CWG Hockey history. But the final was a washout with India going down 8-0 against the mighty

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Asian Hockey Champions Trophy

He captained the Indian team to the inaugural

2011 Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy The 2011 Men's Asian Champions Trophy was the first edition of the Men's Asian Champions Trophy and it took place from 3 September to 11 September 2011 in Ordos, China. The top six teams (India, South Korea, Pakistan, China, Malaysia and Japan) fr ...

, which India won by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan in the final. But Rajpal was removed as the captain on 30 September and was replaced by goalkeeper

Bharat Chhetri Bharat, or Bharath, may refer to: * Bharat (term), the name for India in various Indian languages ** Bharata Khanda, the Sanskrit name for the Indian subcontinent (or South Asia) * Bharata, the name of several legendary figures or groups: ** Bhar ...

. It is believed that his demotion was imminent as he had led the team's revolt against the federation for giving meager rewards after the Champion's Trophy triumph.

Premier Hockey League

Rajpal leads hugely popular Chandigarh Dynamos in the

PHL Philadelphia International Airport is the primary airport serving Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The airport served 19.6 million passengers annually in 2021, making it the 21st busiest airport in the United States. The airport is located from t ...

. Rajpal, a PPS officer is currently serving in the Punjab Police as a Superintendent of Police.

Personal life

He married Indian sport shooter Avneet Sidhu in 2013, and the couple have one child.
imes of India, 15 September 2011.

World Series Hockey

Rajpal leads the Delhi Wizards in the WSH 2012.

Awards

In 2011, Rajpal received the prestigious

for excellence in the field of hockey.

References

External links

Indian Hockey Captain - Striker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Rajpal Living people Field hockey players from Chandigarh Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Asian Games medalists in field hockey Recipients of the Arjuna Award 1983 births World Series Hockey players Field hockey players at the 2006 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 2010 Asian Games Indian male field hockey players Asian Games bronze medalists for India Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey Medalists at the 2010 Asian Games Delhi Waveriders players Hockey India League players Field hockey players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games 2006 Men's Hockey World Cup players 2010 Men's Hockey World Cup players Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games