Bhalindra Singh

Bhalindra Singh (9 October 1919 – 16 April 1992) was an Indian sports administrator and former first-class cricketer. Singh was an influential sports administrator who held positions in international and Indian sports governing bodies.

Bhalindra Singh
Singh (second from right) in London, England
4th & 6th President of the Indian 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
Personal details
Born	(1919-10-09)9 October 1919 Patiala, Punjab Province, British India
Died	16 April 1992(1992-04-16) (aged 72)
Children	4, including Randhir Singh
Parent(s)	Bhupinder Singh (father) Jaswant Kaur (mother)
Education	Aitchison College
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge
Cricket information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm slow
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 13 Runs scored 392 Batting average 21.77 100s/50s 1/1 Top score 109 Balls bowled 1284 Wickets 25 Bowling average 27.00 5 wickets in innings 0 10 wickets in match 0 Best bowling 4/34 Catches/stumpings 4/0
Source: ESPNcricinfo

Early life and education

Bhalindra Singh was born on 9 October 1919 in Patiala, Punjab Province, British India.^[1] He was a younger son of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala. Singh's mother was Jaswant Kaur. His elder brother was Yadavindra Singh, the last ruling Maharaja of Patiala.

Singh was educated at Aitchison College in Lahore and later attended Magdalene College, Cambridge in England.^[2]

Cricket career

Singh was a right-handed middle order batsman and right arm slow bowler.^[1] During his time at the University of Cambridge, he played one match for the Cambridge University Cricket Club against Northamptonshire County Cricket Club in 1939.^[3][1] After Cambridge, Singh played 12 matches in India for Southern Punjab and Patiala.^[1] In the 1943–44 season, he made his only century while playing for Southern Punjab against Northern India.^[1]

Sports administration career

After finishing his cricket career, Singh became a sports administrator, and he held positions in international and domestic sports governing bodies.

Singh was a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1947 to 1992 and had also served on the IOC's executive board.^[4][5] He was instrumental in organising and bringing the 9th Asian Games to Delhi in 1982.^[6] Singh had also served as the President of the Asian Games Federation.^[7][8]

Singh was President of the Athletics Federation of India from 1952 to 1968.^[9] He was also the President of the Swimming Federation of India from 1952 to 1955.^[10] Singh was the President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) from 1960 to 1975 and from 1980 to 1984.^[4] The Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy is named after Singh and is awarded to the team that wins the highest number of gold medals at the National Games of India.^[11][12]

Awards

• Padma Bhushan – 1983^[13]
• Service Award by the United States Sports Academy – 1983^[14]

Personal life

Singh had 3 daughters and one son.^[3] His son, Randhir Singh, is a prominent sports administrator and was an Olympic-level trap and skeet shooter.^[15][16]

References

1. "Bhalindra Singh Profile – Cricket Player India. Stats, Records, Video". ESPNcricinfo. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
2. Encyclopaedia of Cities and Towns in India: Punjab. Gyan Publishing House. 2008. p. 198. ISBN 978-81-212-0973-1. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
3. Directorate of Information and Public Relations, Punjab, India (1992). Advance. Public Relations, Punjab. pp. 46–47. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
4. "Indian Olympic Association". Indian Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
5. Olympic Review. International Olympic Committee,. 1980. p. 125. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
6. Bobb, Dilip; Raina, Asoka (12 August 2014). "India set to stage country's most ambitious undertaking to date – IX Asiad". India Today. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
7. Kaul, Vimla (1978). India Since Independence: Chronology of Events. Vol. 7. Sagar Publications. p. 1742. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
8. "Services retain Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy; Sajan Prakash and Hashika Ramachandra crowned Best Athletes". India Today. 12 October 2022. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
9. Naseem, Mohammad; Naseem, Saman (20 August 2022). Sports Law in India. Kluwer Law International B.V. ISBN 978-94-035-4775-6. Archived from the original on 29 March 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
10. Wadhwaney, Kishin R. (2002). The Story of Swimming. Publications Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 290. ISBN 978-81-230-1012-0.
11. Olympics.com (12 October 2022). "National Games 2022: Services retain Raja Bhalindra Singh Trophy; Lovlina Borgohain wins gold in boxing". Olympics. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
12. Peri, Dinakar (14 October 2022). "Services team tops medals tally at National Games 2022 for fourth consecutive time". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
13. "Padma Awards. Interactive Dashboard". dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
14. Careers Digest: A Journal of Careers, Competitions, and Current Affairs. 1983. p. 53. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
15. "Raja Randhir SINGH – Indian Olympic Association, IOC Member since 2001". International Olympic Committee. 16 December 2021. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
16. "Singh appointed acting Olympic Council of Asia president". Reuters. 11 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2022.

External links

• Bhalindra Singh at ESPNcricinfo

Civic offices
Preceded by Yadavindra Singh	President of the Indian Olympic Association 1960–1975	Succeeded by Om Prakash Mehra
Preceded by Om Prakash Mehra	President of the Indian Olympic Association 1980–1984	Succeeded by Vidya Charan Shukla