Charanjit Singh, the legendary Indian Hockey player, died on Thursday at his home in Himachal Pradesh after suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 90 years old.

Singh had been facing multiple health-related issues for five years. He suffered a stroke five years ago and has been paralysed since. The Olympic-level player is survived by two sons and one daughter.

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VP Singh, the younger son of Charanjit Singh, said in a statement to PTI, “Dad was paralysed after suffering a stroke five years back. He used to walk with a stick but since the last couple of months, his health deteriorated and this morning he left us.”

Charanjit Singh has been known as one of the top players in Indian Hockey history. He was the captain of India’s 1964 Olympic team, who brought home the gold medal. In the 1960 Olympics, he also contributed to India’s silver medal-winning game. 

He was also a part of the 1962 Asian Games silver-winning team, according to reports from PTI.

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Recollecting the fond memory in the lead-up to last year’s Tokyo Olympics, Charanjit had told Hockey India Flashback Series: “Both the teams were regarded among the strongest teams during that time, and we had a very challenging outing against them (Pakistan).

“Moreover, you know, how intense it becomes when you play against Pakistan that too in the final of the Olympics. The match was also interrupted briefly to cool down the tempers of both teams.

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Charanjit was an alumnus of Col Brown Cambridge School, Dehradun and Punjab University. After his illustrious career in international hockey, he worked as the director of the physical education department at Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

He was one of the architects of India’s stunning performance at the 1960 Olympics before an unfortunate injury forced him to sit out of the final against arch-rivals Pakistan, which they lost by a slender 0-1 margin.