CHENNAI: It was quite hot in Châteauroux, the venue for shooting during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Randhir Singh was there walking towards the venue maintaining his gait. He was frail and his strides looked laborious but he refused to sit. He wanted to stand and greet athletes and officials. He was 77 then and was not in great shape health-wise, yet he preferred to stand. An Arjuna Awardee, Olympian and sports administrator all rolled into one.
This is Singh in a nutshell – one who always loved to be in the thick of things and never shied away from precarious precipices. When the IOA office was at the JN Stadium in New Delhi, Singh was a domineering presence in the corridors of sports’ seat of power. He would be the last to leave and would welcome anyone even if one sauntered in unannounced. Unlike the days we live in, when news is hard to come by, even as press releases, Singh loved dissemination of information, even if it were hard ones. Singh has had many tales to narrate, so conversations were never dull. With his immense experience and knowledge about sports administration, he would be there to guide anyone who sought his expertise even after he was not in the IOA.
This was reflected in his work as well. Because of his clout in the International Olympic Committee (IOA) and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), he remained part of both the organizations for decades. In fact, even after serving as secretary of the OCA over two decades from 1991 to 2015, he was elected the president in 2024 and was interim president from September 2021. He served as IOA secretary general from 1991-2015. He was in the IOC from 2001 to 2015 and also became an honorary life member later. He was also an IOC representative in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
A former international shooter himself, Singh was the first Asian Games gold medallist in shooting. He represented India at the Olympics four times. Coming from the Maharaja family of Patiala, Singh was considered one of the most astute sports administrators of the country.
One of India’s most respected and long-serving sports administrators Singh breathed his last in his residence in New Delhi on Wednesday. It will be safe to say that he would perhaps be one of the last long-serving former Indian Olympic Association top officials. He as secretary and the late Suresh Kalmadi as president made a formidable pair in the IOA. Though the two had frosty relationships towards the end of their tenures, it never spilled in the open. There was mutual respect. He is survived by his wife Vinita and three daughters — Mahima, Sunaina and Rajeshwari.
