Ajmer Singh
Encyclopedia
Ajmer Singh is an India
n basketball
player who was awarded the country's highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award
, in 1982. He represented the country in the Asian Basketball Championships and in the 1980 Summer Olympics
in Moscow
.
According the The Hindu, Singh was "a rough and tough player and his sole aim was to score as many baskets as possible. A dedicated man, he was remarkable for his appetite for baskets. As a result, he emerged as one of the top 10 shooters in the 1980 Moscow Olympics."
district of Haryana
. He joined Haryana Police after his education and started practicing volleyball
. At 6 in 5 in (1.96 m) tall, it was thought that he could be a good player. Just when he started getting serious about volleyball, the local basketball coach called him over one day.
, which had a tradition in basketball. He played for the Rajasthan
team and later moved to the Indian Railways
team. The high point of his career was the Moscow Olympics where his performance was rated highly. His average per game at the 1980 Olympics was 21 points, with the next best scorer from the Indian team, Radhey Shyam
, averaging 14 points. Singh scored nearly a third of India's points in the competition.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player who was awarded the country's highest sporting honor, the Arjuna Award
Arjuna award
The Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll....
, in 1982. He represented the country in the Asian Basketball Championships and in the 1980 Summer Olympics
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
According the The Hindu, Singh was "a rough and tough player and his sole aim was to score as many baskets as possible. A dedicated man, he was remarkable for his appetite for baskets. As a result, he emerged as one of the top 10 shooters in the 1980 Moscow Olympics."
Background
Ajmer Singh Chopra was born on 12 December, 1953 at Rukanpur village, near Uchana in the KarnalKarnal
Karnal is an important city and the headquarters of Karnal District in the Indian state of Haryana.Karnal is said to have been founded by the Kauravas in the Mahabharata era for the king Karna, a mythological hero and a key figure in the epic tale...
district of Haryana
Haryana
Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south...
. He joined Haryana Police after his education and started practicing volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
. At 6 in 5 in (1.96 m) tall, it was thought that he could be a good player. Just when he started getting serious about volleyball, the local basketball coach called him over one day.
Sporting career
Singh moved to KotaKota, Rajasthan
Kota , formerly known as Kotah, is a city in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan. It is located south of state capital, Jaipur. Situated on the banks of Chambal River, the city is the trade centre for an area in which millet, wheat, rice, pulses, coriander and oilseeds are grown; industries...
, which had a tradition in basketball. He played for the Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
team and later moved to the Indian Railways
Indian Railways
Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....
team. The high point of his career was the Moscow Olympics where his performance was rated highly. His average per game at the 1980 Olympics was 21 points, with the next best scorer from the Indian team, Radhey Shyam
Radhey Shyam
Radhey Shyam was an Indian basketball player who represented India at the 1980 Summer Olympics and the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. He was a recipient of the Arjuna Award for his achievements. He died in 2006 at the age of 54 at his native village in Rajasthan....
, averaging 14 points. Singh scored nearly a third of India's points in the competition.