Jarnail Singh: India's Greatest Defender

Jarnail Singh Dhillon was born in Lyallpur or present-day Faisalabad, Pakistan. His formative years were influenced heavily by the Partition. When Jarnail was 13 years old, he was placed alone by his father, Ujagar Singh, into a truck of 50 people fleeing communal violence.1

His end destination was Phagwara, where his family eventually resettled.2 This traumatised 13 year-old who arrived in Phagwara would, within a decade, cement himself as the most feared defender in Asia.3 Jarnail himself said:

‘I faced imminent death at the age of 13 during partition. Yet, I managed to survive. Thereafter, I feared nothing in life.’4

The family resettled in Panam village, Hoshiarpur, where he developed his love for football. At the age of 16, Jarnail began playing for Khalsa College Mahilpur, his first club and then Khalsa Sporting Club, at 20.5

In 1957, Jarnail moved to Calcutta, joining Rajasthan Club, which was one of the prominent clubs in the city, bankrolled by local Marwari business families and known for recruiting talent from across India. At the time, Calcutta was the epicentre for Indian football containing prestigious clubs like Mohun Bagun, Mohammedan and East Bengal FC. The move to Rajasthan Club was facilitated by Darshan Singh, a player from Jarnail’s area who was already at the club.6

Jarnail’s start in Calcutta was difficult. He was deployed as a centre-back rather than in his natural position as a striker, and his physical style wasn’t welcomed by a crowd that enjoyed technical football. The Calcutta public nicknamed him Jaguar Singh. He struggled and it seemed like his time at Rajasthan Club was over but nevertheless, his attributes were being monitored by others.7

The coach of Mohun Bagan, Arun Sinha, spotted Jarnail in Rajasthan’s tent and offered him a place in the club for a salary of Rs. 3,500 annually. In 1959, Jarnail joined Mohun Bagan. Sinha introduced the back three system with Jarnail as a ball-winning centre back, a positional shift that would prove transformative.8

However, his first season at Mohun Bagan was questionable. He initially failed to cope with the pressure of playing for one of India’s most prestigious clubs. His career was saved by an amazing performance in a Calcutta rivalry match that season.9

His role in the Mohun Bagan squad was cemented alongside prominent players like the striker Chuni Goswami. In the 1960s, Mohun Bagan was dominating domestic Indian football, winning the Calcutta League six times and both the IFA Shield and Durand Cup four times.10

Veteran journalist Jaydeep Basu notes that Jarnail was never technically gifted compared to other Indian defenders. However, his courage and physical dominance made him a mainstay in each team he played in. Every team in the continent, Basu writes, developed ‘a fear psychosis’ about Jarnail Singh.11

India’s participation in the 1960 Rome Olympics was the fourth time the national football team would appear at the Games. The squad, with an average age of just 22, returned without a medal but Rahim regarded the tournament as essential for creating a team for the Asian Games.12

The tournament was rich in talent. Italy’s squad included Gianni Rivera and Giovanni Trapattoni, future legends of Italian football. Brazil fielded Gerson, a pivotal figure in their 1970 World Cup-winning side. Hungary’s squad included Flórián Albert, who would win the Ballon d’Or in 1967.

When playing against Hungary, Jarnail was tasked with marking Albert personally. He performed this with ruthlessness, suppressing one of the continent’s most gifted players for most of the match. Albert escaped his marker once and scored. It was a performance that announced Jarnail’s quality on the international stage. The dominant Hungary team ended up winning the match 2-1 but would go on to beat sides like France 7-0 and Peru 6-2.13

India’s campaign in Jakarta took place against a backdrop of severe anti-Indian hostility. Indonesia and India had recently clashed over the membership of Taiwan and Israel in the Asian Games Federation and Indian athletes faced harassment throughout their stay. Their buses were stoned, they were booed when they won medals and heckled when they lost.14

For Jarnail, this political atmosphere was even more dangerous. As a turban-wearing Sikh, he was immediately identifiable as an Indian. Basu records that he was forced to travel to matches hiding.15 Chuni Goswami, writing in his autobiography Khelte Khelte, gives an account of the discrimination faced by Jarnail Singh:

Even the Sikh player Jarnail Singh was forbidden to tie a turban on his head so that no one would recognise us as Indians. What a cruel joke! We all joined the march past wearing turbans, and Jarnail himself tied turbans on everyone's heads. In the situation, he had to take off his own turban. It's not hard to imagine how our day was spent.16

Alongside this, India’s team had injury issues. Goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj was hospitalised with flu before the tournament, leaving India with their reserve goalkeeper, until the final. In the second group match against Thailand, Jarnail suffered a deep head wound and was carried off the field. He received ten stitches and was ruled out of the subsequent match against Japan.17

India qualified from the group stage and, after beating South Vietnam in the semi-final, with a goal scored by Jarnail Singh. They faced South Korea in the gold medal match.

For the semi-final and final, coach Syed Abdul Rahim made one of the most important tactical decisions in the history of Indian football. Rather than field the heavily bandaged Jarnail as a defender, Rahim pushed him forward as a centre-forward. Rahim knew that Jarnail had begun his career as a striker in Punjab before converting to a defender.18

Rahim also calculated that to field India without Jarnail would be the greater risk. The Mohun Bagan defender was, by this point, ‘easily the most feared footballer in Asia because of his extremely hard tackling, ruthless approach and intimidating physical play’. His mere presence on the pitch, at any position, was extremely important.19

The final was played in a hostile atmosphere. The rest of the Indian contingent had already left Jakarta; there was almost no one in the stands to support India. The team was booed each time they touched the ball. The one exception was the Pakistan hockey team, which had beaten India in the hockey final previously and they were cheering India.20

India took the lead in the 17^th minute. Three minutes later, Jarnail Singh scored a second goal, from a free kick.21 India won the match 2-1 and came home as gold medallists. Jarnail scored in both the semi-final and the final, both goals scored with stitches on his head. The achievement made him the most popular Indian player in the Far East, especially in Malaysia and Indonesia.22

Rahim died of cancer in 1963, and the decline of Indian football began almost immediately after his death. In 1964, India lost to Israel 2-0, in the Asian Cup final. India’s international results declined sharply after 1964.23

Jarnail continued to play for Mohun Bagan until the late 1960s. One of his last celebrated club performances came in 1968, in a Calcutta derby against East Bengal.24 By the time Jarnail left Calcutta in 1968, he had captained the Asian All-Star XI and was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1964.25 His fame transcended sport. After the 1962 Asian Games, the Indian Express conducted a popularity poll of Indian sportspersons. Jarnail was number 1 on the list.26

After retiring from playing, Jarnail turned his attention to the development of football in Punjab, a region that had not historically played football. As captain, he led Punjab to their first Santosh Trophy title in 1970.27

Four years later, as coach, he guided Punjab to another Santosh Trophy victory in 1974. The striker, Inder Singh, was in great form, scoring a record 23 goals; Punjab accumulated 46 goals across the tournament and dismantled the powerhouse Bengal 6-0 in the final.28 He subsequently served as Deputy Director of Sports for Punjab (1985–90) and then Director of Sports (1990–94).29

For many, Jarnail Singh may be categorised as India’s greatest defender, ahead of Sailen Manna and Mohammed Azizuddin. It is due to this legacy that Hoshiarpur district has such a prevalent football-playing culture.30 Punjab is now seeing a growth within football; teams such like Punjab FC and Namdhari FC helping create Punjabi talents, which may have not been possible without Jarnail Singh.