Sabir Ali (19 April 1955 – 22 January 2023) was an Indian

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ� ...

. He was an

Arjuna award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given 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 Arjun ...

winner (1981). Born in

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

, Ali won 10

gold medals A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

, including at the

1981 Asian Athletics Championships The 1981 Asian Athletics Championships was the fourth edition of the biennial sport of athletics, athletics competition for Asian nations, and was held from June 5-7, 1981 in Tokyo, Japan. Medal summary Men Women Medal table References Asi ...

held at

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. He won two silver medals in South Asian Athletics meet held at Kathmandu & Dhaka. He was declared the best sportsman of India in the year 1981 by Indian Railways and Journalist Association of India. He was conferred with

by the president of India

Zail Singh Giani Zail Singh (, born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician from Punjab who served as the president of India from 1982 to 1987 and chief minister of Punjab. He was the first Sikh to become president. B ...

and Bhim award by the government of Haryana in 1981. Winner of silver medal (1985) & bronze (1981) in world railway athletic championship held in

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He became the Captain of Indian Athletics Team in Asian track and field athletic meet held in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

in 1983. He was appointed as the chief coach of Indian railways and northern railways (1992–2002), member of selection committee (sr. athletics) of the country for five years. He died of a cardiac arrest on 22 January 2023 at Northern Railway Central Hospital, New Delhi.

References

Athletes from Haryana Indian decathletes 1955 births 2023 deaths Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Athletics Championships winners {{India-athletics-bio-stub