Dalip Singh Grewal was an Indian track and field athlete who competed 1924 Summer Olympics and 1928 Summer Olympics with determination against the British people. He was the man of colonial period, was the inspiration to the young athletes of India.
Dalip Singh Grewal was born on April 27, 1899. He was born in Dolon Kalan of Punjab. He came from the Sikh family and was the father of Balkrishan Singh. In 1924 he was eliminated in the qualification of the long jump competition and finished 14th in overall. Four years later, he finished 36th in the long jump event at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
Dalip Singh Grewal was born at Dolon Kalan village district of Ludhiana. Dalip Singh Grewal did his schooling in Mission School. There he joined in the Forman Christian College and Law College of Lahore (which is now in Pakistan). Even at school, he showed potential of a good sportsman and all-rounder in traditional sports. In fact, he emerged as a fine athlete, showing great skill in 100,200,440 yards, 120 yards hurdles and long jump during the university days. He also played hockey and cricket too.
Dalip Singh Grewal, an Indian athlete goes the credit of being the first Sikh to represent India in the Olympics.
The 1924 Olympic Games were held in Paris in which India sent a contingent of seven athletes. In this seven-man squad, two Sikhs, Dalip and Palam made their debut in 1924 Olympic. The Sikh had missed, only four years ago when six Indian athletes had participated in the 1920 Antwerp Olympics.
Dalip Singh Grewal could not have made to the Paris Olympics Games but for the patronage and help coming in from the late Maharajadhiraj Bhupinder Singh of Patiala.
Dalip Singh Frewal besides being a fine athlete, he was a good hockey player also. When the trails were to be held at Lahore (now in Pakistan) for the Paris Olympics, Dalip Singh Grewal was scheduled to play for Patiala Tigers, a regional hockey team of that time.
It was here that the Maharaja of Patiala came to recognise his worth and helped him take a well-deserved place in the seven -man athletic team. It is true that the team then did not bring home any laurels, but it is on record that two among the Indian athletic performed really well, and one of them was Dalip Singh Grewal. In the long jump event, Dalip Singh Grewal narrowly missed a mark which could have earned him a place among the first six.
Another honour which went to Dalip Singh Grewal was that he was the first Indian, a man who came from Sikh community, was the torch-bearer at the inaugural Asian Games at Delhi in the year 1951. But he got the real breakthrough when Dalip Singh Grewal was selected to represent India in the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was the captain of the Indian athletic team at that time. In fact, Dalip Singh can be described as a very distinguished man, In World War II; Dalip Singh Grewal served the Patiala Infantry. He had joined the Patiala army in 1924. For his services, he was awarded M.B.E (Medal for British Empire) in the colonial time.
