Panjab University's sports legacy: From 1924 Olympics to Neeraj's gold in world championship

Saurabh Duggal

The first individuals from Panjab University (PU) to enter the Olympics arena were long jumper Dalip Singh and lawn tennis player Mohammad Salim in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Dalip was a student of FC College Lahore and then joined the university's Law College, while Salim was a student of Government College, Lahore.

Since then, the University has had a long history of producing world-class players for India both pre and post-Independence. The latest contribution to its rich sports legacy is the golden run at the World Championship in Budapest by its former student Neeraj Chopra.

With Neeraj's javelin touching a distance of 88.17m, he became the first Indian to win gold in the World Athletics Championship on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.

Neeraj is a student of PU's affiliate DAV College, Chandigarh.

The University has a share in the country’s all historic moments at the World championships. Whether it's cricket, hockey, or now athletics.

Ajit Pal Singh, a student of Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, led India to a historic gold in the hockey World Cup in 1975. Chandigarh DAV College's Kapil Dev was the captain during the 1983 Cricket World Cup triumph, and cricketer Yuvraj Singh was part of the 2011 World Cup-winning team.

The 140-year-old Panjab University – one of the oldest universities in India – was initiated in Lahore in 1882 and shifted to Chandigarh post participation. It has a long tradition of excellence in sports since it's inception.

The first Olympic gold to the University's credit came during the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics when two of its former students, Feroze Khan and Kehar Singh Gill, were part of India's first men's hockey gold medal-winning team. And the most decorated Olympians from the University are Udham Singh (3 gold and a silver) and Balbir Singh Senior (3 gold).

Its students and alumni have contributed to winning over 50 Olympic medals, all in hockey except for Neeraj's gold in javelin throw in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. And the count is still ongoing.