The Indian Air Force will hold a Marshal Arjan Singh Memorial All India Hockey Tournament from this year, in honour of the memory of the IAF's only five-star officer Arjan Singh. The first tournament will take place tomorrow at the 3 Base Repair Depot and Sector 42 Astro Turf Hockey Grounds in Chandigarh.
In all, there will be 16 teams playing this year―eight elite club teams of the country plus another eight teams from the armed forces and para military forces. The tournament, organised by Air Force Sports Control Board, will go on till May 12.
Air Marshal Hemant Sharma AVSM VSM, air officer commanding-in-chief of the IAF Maintenance Command will declare the tournament open. Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa will be be the chief guest for the final match on May 12. Prominent sports personalities have also been invited to witness and grace the occasion.
Arjan Singh, who passed away on September 16 last year at the age of 98, was a keen lover of hockey, and was an inspiration to the air warriors not only in the field of war, but also the field of sport.
Arjan Singh who had taken part in World War II and commanded a squadron in some of the most difficult air operations in Burma and then in the battles of Imphal and Kohima, also led the IAF during the 1965 war with Pakistan. Arjan Singh was honoured with the Marshal of the Air Force rank in 2002. The IAF honoured him on April 14, 2016, his birthday, by naming the Air Force base at Panagarh as Air Force Station Arjan Singh.