Punjab polls: Ex-Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh also in the fray
Singh, a Padma Shri awardee who was centre half of Indian team that won the 1975 Hockey World Cup, is contesting from Nakodar constituency in Jalandhar district
Former Indian hockey team captain Ajit Pal Singh, 74, who is in the poll fray from the Nakodar constituency on Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) ticket, hails from Jalandhar district’s Sansarpur village that has produced several hockey Olympians.
Singh, a Padma Shri awardee, was centre half of the Indian team that won the 1975 Hockey World Cup and was part of India’s Olympic contingent in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
“I never thought of contesting the elections but did so on PLC supremo and former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s insistence. I have had no alignment with any other political party. But it is high time to give direction to the state’s youth towards a bright future. There was a time when Punjab produced army generals and great players. But it is a thing of past now. The neighbouring Haryana is now way ahead of Punjab in sports,” he says.
“To save Punjab, we have to generate employment for our youth which is migrating to western countries. We need to curb the drug menace,” added Singh, who served as a deputy commandant in the Border Security Force (BSF).
He will be shifting to Sansarpur soon and will start campaigning in Nakodar, he added.
Besides Ajit Pal and state cabinet minister Pargat Singh of the Congress, another former Indian hockey team captain and Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi is also contesting from Jalandhar Cantonment seat.