Randhir Singh Profile

Shooting has been a popular sport in India and was a favorite game with the Maharajas of the former princely states of India. The need to be adept and an expertise in shooting was an essential constituent to be a true royal descendant. This is one of the reasons that the origin of some of the leading shooters of India can be traced back to the erstwhile imperial families of India. One such shooter of the present times is Randhir Singh, a successor of the royal family of Patiala. An ace shooter and a dynamic administrator, Randhir Singh has to his credit a lot of awards, honors and recognition in his career spanning 31 years. He was the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in Asian games. His commendable performance at the international events has been applauded by both India and the world at large. In the following lines, we have provided detailed information about the early life and career of his outstanding shooter.

Early Life & Introduction To Shooting
Randhir Singh, an offspring of the royal family of Patiala in Punjab, was born on October 18, 1946, in Patiala. Talking about his educational qualification, Randhir Singh is a recipient of the D.Litt degree from the Gwalior University. True to his royal lineage, gun became Randhir's ally right from an early age. In 1964, making his debut in the senior National Championship, Randhir Singh bagged the Gold Medal in the Team (Trap) event and repeated the feat in the next year, as well.

As A Shooter
Three years after making an outstanding debut in 1964, Singh clinched the National Championship in Individual Skeet and Gold both in Team Skeet and Team Trap. Singh represented India in six Olympics and three Asian Games and brought home several international medals. At the Pesta Sukan Shooting Championship in Singapore in 1969, Singh put up an outstanding performance to win four Gold Medals in Trap and Skeet events. In the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games, Singh achieved yet another milestone in his life, becoming the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in Asian games. In the subsequent edition of the Asian Games that was held in New Delhi in 1982, Singh was not only the member of the silver-winning team, but also claimed an individual bronze. Singh won the National Championship in Individual Trap three years on the trot from 1980 to 1982.

As An Administrator
Apart from being a genius in the Indian shooting circuit, Randhir Singh dons the cap of being an excellent and efficient sports administrator. As an administrator, Singh has been serving the Secretary General of Indian Olympic Association since 1987 and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) in the same position since 1991, besides that of the Afro- Asian Games Council since 1998. Singh was also the Secretary-General of the South Asia Sports Promotion for two terms, 1987 and 1994. In 2001, Singh was elected to be a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Moscow. The phrase "Like father, like son" suits Randhir Singh perfectly, as his father, Raja Bhalendra Singh, too, was a member of the IOC from 1947 to 1992.

Awards & Honors