Rajinder Singh (Senior)

Rajinder Singh, known in Indian hockey as Rajinder Singh “Senior”, won Olympic gold as a player and went on to coach India’s teams. In September 2026 his work with village children was highlighted in episode 138 of Mann Ki Baat ^[1].

Olympian

Singh was a member of the Indian team that won the hockey gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games ^[2]. He also played at the 1982 World Cup ^[3]. His last international match came at the 1982 Champions Trophy, where India took bronze and he scored three goals from penalty corners ^[2].

Coach

He joined the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in 1990 and began coaching there, and the sub-junior and junior teams he worked with won many national honours ^[2]. He coached the side that gave India its first Men’s Junior World Cup title in 2001, and the team that won the senior Asia Cup in 2003 ^[1][3]. He has received the Dronacharya Award for coaching ^[2].

Back to the villages

After retiring from SAI, Singh joined the RoundGlass hockey programme in 2020 to train young players from villages ^[2]. He told All India Radio that it runs 60 hockey academies across Punjab, where about 3,000 children are learning the game, including girls aged six to eight ^[2].

The aim is to find children with talent who have no access to good coaching, and bring them up to national level ^[1][2]. According to the Prime Minister, new artificial hockey pitches are being laid in villages as part of this work, and players from the programme are reaching India’s junior and senior squads ^[1].

Singh said the recognition would encourage him, and other coaches, to work even harder at finding young talent ^[2].