Can you name a hockey legend who won three Olympic medals — silver in Rome (1960), gold in Tokyo (1964), bronze in Mexico (1968)? Chances are that you will struggle to find the correct answer, which is Prithipal Singh. But this shining star’s life was very short. He was gunned down in broad daylight by his own students in the campus of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana in 1983 with more than 50 eye witnesses. However, none of them came forward to identify the shooters in the court.

Here are few interesting things that you should know about Prithipal Singh:

• Prithipal Singh started his hockey career in 1950 as a part if his college hockey team. He was appointed the captain of the team in 1955.
• In the Tokyo Olympics, India scored a total of 22 goals, out of which 10 were scored by Prithipal alone.
• Prithipal was not just an incredible hockey player, but also a post-graduate in agriculture. He worked for Punjab Police as well as the Indian Railways.
• In 1965, he was awarded the Railway Minister’s Medal for being the Best Railway Sportsman.
• He was murdered by his own students at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), where he worked as the sports director.
• Indian Government honoured him with the first-ever Arjuna Award conferred to a hockey player.
• He was also awarded the Padma Shri in 1967 for his meritorious contributions to world hockey.
• Prithipal participated in 3 Olympic games and each time he surprised the world with his incredible performance. He bagged medals in all three of them — silver in Rome (1960), gold in Tokyo (1964), bronze in Mexico (1968).

Prithipal Singh … a story: Biopic on hockey player Prithipal Singh

Now a feature film based on his chequered life, “Prithipal Singh … a story” is ready for release in select theatres on October 30th. It is this tale of the forgotten legend that Sundeep Misra wanted to tell the world. It will unfold some of the most interesting and inspiring aspects of his life.

The film starring actor Vikas Kumar, who had a prominent role in the super-hit series CID in the lead role and shot in Chandigarh was made on a frugal budget of Rs 1 crore.