Ajit Singh Gill
{{Short description|Singaporean field hockey player (1928–2024)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| name = Ajit Singh Gill
| full_name =
| image = Ajit Singh Gill.png
| caption = Ajit holding the torch during the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
| nationality = Singaporean
| sport = Field hockey
| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|03|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Federated Malay States, British Malaya
| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|01|16|1928|03|21|df=yes}}
| death_place =
| club = Singapore Indian Association, Singapore
}}
Ajit Singh Gill (21 March 1928 – 16 January 2024) was a Singaporean field hockey player.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/111088 |title=Ajit Singh Gill |work=Olympedia |access-date=14 December 2021}} He competed in the men's tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics.{{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/gi/ajit-singh-gill-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418102217/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/gi/ajit-singh-gill-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 April 2020 |title=Ajit Singh Gill |access-date=19 September 2019}} Gill died on 16 January 2024, at the age of 95.[https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/ajit-singh-gill-singapore-s-oldest-olympian-dies-at-94 Ajit Singh Gill, Singapore's oldest Olympian, dies at 94]
Early life
Ajit Singh Gill was born in Kuala Lumpur in 1928. He was the oldest of 10 siblings. In 1953, his family moved to Singapore. While there, he attended Teacher Training College.{{cite web | url=https://indiapost.com/singapores-oldest-olympian-indian-origin-gill-dies-at-95/ | title=Singapore's oldest Olympian, Indian origin Gill, dies at 95 - IndiaPost NewsPaper | date=17 January 2024 }} During World War 2, he lived through the Japanese occupation of Malaya. He used to go Singapore on a train to buy goods from the now-defunct Sungei Road Market and then return to Kuala Lumpur. He used to cycle up to 80 kilometers to sell his things in the countryside to support his family. He was scrawny (thin) as a young boy and overcame his childhood asthma by playing sports in Kampung.{{cite news | url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/ajit-singh-gill-singapore-s-oldest-olympian-dies-at-94 | title=Ajit Singh Gill, Singapore's oldest Olympian, dies at 95 | newspaper=The Straits Times | date=16 January 2024 }}
Career
Ajit Singh Gill played hockey and cricket for the Selangor Indian Association from 1948 to 1951 and for the state of Selangor in 1950. He was a short corner specialist and played for the Singapore Indian Association from 1952 to 1975. In 1956, he then represented Singapore in the Melbourne Olympics. He switched to cricket in 1960s. He earned the nickname — “big-hitting Sikh”, because of hitting fours and sixes with ease.{{cite web | url=https://indiapost.com/singapores-oldest-olympian-indian-origin-gill-dies-at-95/ | title=Singapore's oldest Olympian, Indian origin Gill, dies at 95 - IndiaPost NewsPaper | date=17 January 2024 }}
He retired from coaching cricket and hockey in 1985. After that he played golf and race walk. He topped the ASEAN Senior Amateur Golf Championship in 1990 After 26 years, he won gold in the 5,000 meter race walk at the Asia Masters Athletics Championships on home soil.{{cite web | url=https://indiapost.com/singapores-oldest-olympian-indian-origin-gill-dies-at-95/ | title=Singapore's oldest Olympian, Indian origin Gill, dies at 95 - IndiaPost NewsPaper | date=17 January 2024 }}
In 2010, during the Singapore leg of the Youth Olympic Games torch relay, he was one of 2,400 torchbearers and the oldest among them.{{cite news | url=https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/ajit-singh-gill-singapore-s-oldest-olympian-dies-at-94 | title=Ajit Singh Gill, Singapore's oldest Olympian, dies at 95 | newspaper=The Straits Times | date=16 January 2024 }}
Death
Ajit Singh died on 16 January 2024, at the age of 95 due to end stage renal failure. According to his son, he had fractured his hip during the last February after a fall but it healed sufficiently in three months. However, later his health due to renal failure. At the time of his death, his wife (Surjit Kaur) was 92 years old; and his lineage consisted of 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.{{cite web | url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/diaspora/singapores-oldest-olympian-and-former-indian-origin-national-hockey-player-ajit-singh-gill-dies-at-95-581808 | title=Singapore's oldest Olympian and former Indian-origin national hockey player Ajit Singh Gill dies at 95 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{sports links}}
- {{SNOC profile|ajit-singh-gill}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Ajit Singh}}
Category:Singaporean male field hockey players
Category:Olympic field hockey players for Singapore
Category:Field hockey players at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Category:Sportspeople from Kuala Lumpur
Category:Malaysian sportspeople of Indian descent
Category:Malaysian people of Punjabi descent
Category:Malaysian emigrants to Singapore
Category:Singaporean sportspeople of Indian descent
Category:Singaporean people of Punjabi descent
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