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Garma
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Sports |
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. Umrao Singh Mr Umrao Singh is one of the premier Sikh sports administrators in the country. He has been associated with the sports administration for the past three decades. During his long tenure which is still continuing Mr Umrao Singh has served on a number of sports committees and panels both in India and abroad. After the late Raja Bhalindra Singh, he was the next most powerful man in the special Organising Committee of the ninth Asian Games in 1992. But Mr Umrao Singh is not only a sports administrator. He is a multi-dimensional personality. Besides being an able administrator and a fine sportsman, he is a successful politician too. However, he played a leading role in shaping India's hockey destiny. The affairs of the Indian Hockey Federation were a shambles in 1975. Being totally faction-ridden, the IHF was not in a position to prepare the Indian team for the acid test which they were to face in the third World Cup Hockey Tournament at Amsterdam in 1975. Being a close observer of the IHF affairs, Mr Umrao Singh advised the then Chief Minister of Punjab to approach the IOA for the preparatory camp prior to the World Cup, offering all expenses towards coaching and kitting. What followed later is history. India, under the inspiring leadership of world renowned centre-half Ajit Pal Singh, stunned traditional rivals Pakistan in the final to pull out a sensational victory at Amsterdam. Another fine aspect of Mr. Umrao Singh's personality is that he soft-spoken and suave. Never known for losing his temper, he will listen patiently to a point of view different from his own. It was under his advice that sports was made a compulsory subject in Punjab schools. Though Mr Umrao Singh is known for his association with athletics, it was not his first love. Born at Guru Har Sahai in Ferozepore district, he had early education at NAC High School, Burewal. Later, he studied and played for SN and FC College, Lahore. Hockey caught his fancy in the school days. It was only later that he came to be associated with a number of sports organisations. However, athletics took his prime time. He not only served on the state associations and national federations, but he contributed a great deal in promoting sports culture in Asia. He is at present associated with the Olympic Council of Asia. Mr Umrao Singh is a close observer of the Indian sports scene which suffers from various ills. Yet like other administrators, he is helpless in the present scheme of things. However, none can deny the fact that sports administrators, both past and present, have helped in creating a vast network of sports infrastructure in the country. India is today one of the leading sporting nations in Asia. It boasts of the best facilities in sports, thanks to able sports administrators, who opted for the latest equipment and applied scientific approach to the concept of sports. |
