Prithipal Singh

Who was Prithipal Singh?

Prithipal Singh was an Indian field hockey nicknamed the “King of short corner” by hockey commentators. He participated in the Olympic field hockey three times and each time he scored the highest number of goals as a single player. Singh was a player with sharp reflexes, and the tremendous strength in his long and powerful arms produced firmest and sticking shots which unfailingly fetched him goals and often the winners. The Evening Post, New Zealand commented in 1961 that to face the fury of Prithipal's hit is to risk ones life. Another author commented that if Arjuna was the Maharathi of the Mahabharata war, Prithipal was the Maharathi of the International Hockey game. The first-ever Arjuna Award to a hockey player was conferred upon him in 1961, which was later followed by the Padma Shri in 1967. Singh won Olympic medals in Rome, Tokyo and Mexico.