New Delhi: Indian hockey legend and 1980 Moscow Olympics gold medalist, Ravinder Pal Singh succumbed to the COVID-19 virus on Saturday. Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju posted about the sad demise on his Twitter account earlier in the day.
Rijiju captioned the post, “I’m deeply saddened to learn that Shri Ravinder Pal Singh ji has lost the battle to Covid19. With his passing away India loses a golden member of the hockey team that won Gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. His contribution to Indian sports will always be remembered. Om Shanti.”
I’m deeply saddened to learn that Shri Ravinder Pal Singh ji has lost the battle to Covid19. With his passing away India loses a golden member of the hockey team that won Gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. His contribution to Indian sports will always be remembered. Om Shanti? pic.twitter.com/rCE1pcaIgx
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) May 8, 2021
Singh, who also played at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and did not get married, is survived by a niece, Pragya Yadav. He also played in the 1979 Junior World Cup and took voluntary retirement from State Bank of India after quitting hockey.
Born in Sitapur, Singh excelled in his career as a centre-half from 1979 to 1984. Besides two Olympics, Singh represented India many tournaments including the Champions Trophy in Karachi (1980, 1983), Silver Jubilee 10-nation Cup in Hong Kong in 1983, the 1982 World Cup in Mumbai and 1982 Asia Cup in Karachi.