How a DU college is producing so many Olympians

Vivek Shukla *

In the National capital, the distance between Mori Gate and Daryaganj should not be more than three to four kilometres. When India's hockey team was chosen for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, it included Michael A Gettle and Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi Senior. Pataudi was born at Pataudi House, Daryaganj. He later captained the Indian cricket team, and his son Mansur Ali Khan Patuadi also led the Indian team.

Gettle and Patuadi Senior were arguably Delhi's first Olympic participants. Gettle was an Anglo-Indian and resided near the old St Stephen's College in Kashmiri Gate. During that era, many Anglo-Indian families lived in Kashmiri Gate and Mori Gate. Brilliant forward, Gettle also played alongside Dhyan Chand in the 1932 Los Angeles Games. He learned the intricacies of hockey at St Stephen's College, which was then located in Kashmiri Gate.

The Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS), which established St Stephen's College, has always been committed to community service and encouraging emerging athletes. This college has produced hordes of players who have represented India in Olympic games. If it has been producing accomplished players, credit must be given to all those who work both as Christian priests and social workers. They are all associated with the DBS.

Dr Karni Singh is undoubtedly St Stephen's College's most renowned Olympian. He participated in shooting competitions at the 1960 (Rome), 1964 (Tokyo), 1968 (Mexico), 1972 (Munich), and 1980 (Moscow) Olympics.

As you travel from Tughlakabad to Jamia Hamdard University in South Delhi, you'll encounter the Karni Singh Shooting Range. Hundreds of monkeys roam around it. The Karni Singh Shooting Range is the first stadium in the capital named after a player–a rare occurrence in our country where political leaders dominate stadium naming conventions. The range was built for the shooting events of the 1982 Asian Games.

Renowned sports administrator and a product of St Stephen’s college, Randhir Singh also participated in five Olympics from 1968 to 1984. Of course, it is a stunning feat. He also won the Arjuna Award in 1993. He has held several positions in both Indian and international sports governing bodies, and also had a successful shooting career before retiring from the sport in 1994. Singh began his sports administration career in 1984, while he was still competing as a shooter.

He has been the Acting President of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) since 11 September 2021. His other roles in international sports administration include being a member of the IOC from 2001 to 2014; since 2014, he has been an honorary member of the IOC. He had also served as the Secretary General of the OCA from 1991 to 2015.

Mansher Singh, an exceptional shooter, competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Both Randhir Singh and Mansher Singh studied at St Stephen's College and honed their shooting skills there. Mansher "Joey" Singh specializes in double trap and trap.

At the 2008 Olympic Games, he finished in first place in the trap qualification. He also came first at the 2004 Olympic Games. In addition, he has medals from the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games. In the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, British Columbia, he won a gold medal in the trap event.

Meanwhile, during the Rome Games, Ranjit Bhatia, a Mathematics Professor at St Stephen's College, competed in the marathon. In the same Rome Olympics, the "Flying Sikh" Milkha Singh's dream of winning a medal in the 400-meter race was shattered. While not a St Stephen's alumnus, he moved to Delhi after the Partition and lived in Paharganj for a few years.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, St Stephen's College's Piyush Kumar competed in the 4x400-meter relay race, and Sandeep Sejwal participated in the 100 and 200-meter breaststroke swimming events. Neha Aggarwal, a table tennis player and former student of St Stephen's College, where Gandhiji's associate, Deenbandhu CF Andrews, taught, participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Well, all those who are associated with DBS are proud of the fact that Charles Freer Andrews (12 February 1871 – 5 April 1940) was an Anglican priest and member of Delhi Brotherhood society (DBS). He was an educator and an activist for Indian independence. He became a close friend to both Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi and identified with the Indian liberation struggle.

He was instrumental in convincing Gandhi to return to India from South Africa, where Gandhi had been a leading light in the Indian civil rights struggle. He also taught in St Stephen’s college.

Brother Solomon George, a Christian priest at a Pitampura Church in the capital and working in many educational institutions, says, “We strive to ensure our students excel not only in academics but also in sports and other activities, becoming ideal citizens. We provide them with every possible facility.”

It is with this vision that St Stephen's Cambridge School, recently established on the Delhi-Sonipat border, is offering modern facilities for various sports, aiming to produce future Olympians for India.

And in this Paris Olympics that is starting from July 26, Jaspal Rana, another alumnus of St Stephen's College, is taking part as a coach of young shooter, Manu Bhaskar. Rana, an accomplished former shooter himself with multiple Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medals in his kitty. Rana contested mainly in the 25 m Centre Fire Pistol category.

He was a gold medallist at the 1994 Asian Games, 1998 Commonwealth Games - Men's Center Fire Pistol, Men's Center Fire Pistol Pairs, 2002 Commonwealth Games - Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol, 2006 Commonwealth Games - Men's 25m Center Fire Pistol Pairs, and 2006 Asian Games. One only hopes that priests of DBS continue to work for the glory of Indian sports and society.