Bhalindra Singh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Singh (second from right) inLondon, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th & 6th President of theIndian Olympic Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1960–1975 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Yadavindra Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Om Prakash Mehra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1980–1984 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Om Prakash Mehra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Vidya Charan Shukla | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the International Olympic Committee | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1947–1992 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of thePunjab Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1958–1962 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Surinder Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Ram Partap | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Patiala | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1919-10-09)9 October 1919 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 16 April 1992(1992-04-16) (aged 72) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Phulkian dynasty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 4, includingRandhir Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Bhupinder Singh (father) Jaswant Kaur (mother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Aitchison College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Magdalene College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cricket career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cricket information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Right-arm slow | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:ESPNcricinfo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bhalindra Singh (9 October 1919 – 16 April 1992) was an Indian sports administrator, politician andfirst-classcricketer. Singh was an influential sports administrator who held positions in international and Indiansports governing bodies. He was a member of theInternational Olympic Committee from 1947 to 1992.[1] Singh was also aMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) fromPatiala in thePunjab Legislative Assembly.[2]
Bhalindra Singh was born on 9 October 1919 inPatiala,Punjab Province,British India.[3] He was a younger son ofMaharajaBhupinder Singh of Patiala and a member of thePhulkian dynasty. Singh's mother was Jaswant Kaur. His mother, Jaswant, was the sister ofGian Singh Rarewala, who was the firstChief Minister of the former state ofPatiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), and a former President of theShiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.[4][5] His elder brother wasYadavindra Singh, the last rulingMaharaja of Patiala.Nirlep Kaur, Singh's cousin and the daughter of his uncle, Gian Singh Rarewala, was a politician who served as aMember of Parliament in theLok Sabha and her husband, Rajdev Singh Akoi, was an owner ofThe Imperial, a luxury hotel inNew Delhi.[6][7][8]
Singh was educated atAitchison College inLahore and later attendedMagdalene College, Cambridge inEngland.[9]
Singh was a right-handedmiddle orderbatsman and right arm slowbowler.[3] During his time at theUniversity of Cambridge, he played one match for theCambridge University Cricket Club againstNorthamptonshire County Cricket Club in 1939.[10][3] After Cambridge, Singh played 12 matches in India forSouthern Punjab andPatiala.[3] In the 1943 to 1944 season, he made his only century while playing for Southern Punjab againstNorthern India.[3]
After finishing his cricket career, Singh became a sports administrator, and he held positions in international and domesticsports governing bodies.
Singh was a member of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1947 to 1992 and had also served on the IOC's executive board.[1][11] He was instrumental in organising and bringing the9th Asian Games toDelhi in 1982.[12] Singh also served as the President of theAsian Games Federation.[13][14]
Singh was President of theAthletics Federation of India from 1952 to 1968.[15] He was also the President of theSwimming Federation of India from 1952 to 1955.[16] Singh was the President of theIndian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1960 to 1975 and from 1980 to 1984.[1] The Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy is named after Singh and is awarded to the team that wins the highest number of gold medals at theNational Games of India.[17][18]
Singh was aMember of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from thePatiala Assembly constituency from 1958 to 1962.[2] He was elected to thePunjab Legislative Assembly as anindependent candidate.[2]
Singh was married to Pushpa Kumari, the daughter of Charat Singh, the ruler ofSahanpur, and the paternal aunt ofBharatendra Singh, a former Lok SabhaMember of Parliament and a former member of the court ofAligarh Muslim University.[21][22][23] Singh had 3 daughters and one son.[10] His son,Randhir Singh, served as a member of theInternational Olympic Committee, as the President of theOlympic Council of Asia and in various other sports administration roles.[24][25] His granddaughterRajeshwari Kumari, the daughter of his son Randhir, has been anOlympic-leveltrap shooter.[26][27] One of Singh's daughters was Padmesh Kumari, whose daughter, Shagun Khanna, married politician and businessmanArvind Khanna.[22][28] Singh’s cousin through his mother Jaswant, wasA. S. Dulat, former Secretary of theResearch and Analysis Wing (R&AW), India’s foreignintelligence agency.[4]
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of the Indian Olympic Association 1960–1975 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of the Indian Olympic Association 1980–1984 | Succeeded by |