Nripjit Singh Bedi

Nripjit Singh Bedi (commonly known as "Nippy") (born 1 June 1940) was a volleyball player who was a member of the Indian national team and competed in the silver medal-winning effort at the 4th Asian Games. Bedi received the Arjuna Award from the Government of India in 1962. The Indian athlete's volleyball career lasted for 23 years. He served as a Commandant with the Border Security Force (BSF) of Punjab before his 1995 retirement.[1][2]

Early life

Bedi was born in Dhariwal in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab, India. He was the youngest of 6 siblings. He started playing at an early age of 9 when he used to watch others play in the fields at Dhariwal. He would watch the older players and picked up on the technique and improved on them. His name 'Nippy' became a name to be contended for and the opponents would get scared by the mere mention of his name!

Player

Bedi played volleyball with Punjab University from 1956 to 1958 including 59 international test matches against opponents such as Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia (3 times), Japan, South Korea, North Korea, the Philippines, Israel, Indonesia, France, Sri Lanka and Pakistan (1959 to 1974).

Bedi set a record for durability playing for Punjab state and the BSF teams for 21 years (1959 to 1979) in total.

Highlights

Bedi competed at the 4th Asian Games in Jakarta (1962) when the Indian national volleyball squad was a silver medalist and at the Asian Games in Bangkok (1966)). The following year, the Indian team won a bronze medal in Delhi (1963), prior to the Tokyo Olympics held in the latter half of 1964.

Bedi received the Arjuna Award in 1962 and was the first awardee from Punjab state. He was also the first ever member of the Punjab Police and BSF to be a recipient for achievements in volleyball.[3] Over a decade later, Bedi was declared "Sportsman of the Year" by the Punjab government in 1974.

He served as a Commandant with the Border Security Force (BSF) before his retirement in 1995. His command took him all over India like Jammu Kashmir - Mendher, West Bengal - Raiganj, Malda, Rajasthan, Gujarat - Rann of Kutch, Punjab - Dera Baba Nanak, Fazilka.

More recently, Bedi was the recipient of the President's Police Medal for meritorious service in 1992 and with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Punjab police, the latter given by the chief minister of Punjab in 2007.

Coach

Bedi was the coach of the BSF Volleyball team along with its captain. Under his captaincy BSF team became a force to reckon with. He remarkably balanced the responsibilities of a Coach and Captain at the same time. Bedi was appointed coach for the Indian volleyball team and led them to the 1983 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship in Japan. He coached the Indian police team in 1967, 1974 and 1983 and filled the same position with the BSF team for a period of 15 years.

Bedi trained many players who represented India, including Balwant Singh "Ballu". Bedi was a member of the Sports Council of India, a Sports Authority of India (SAI) selector and president of the DVA.

Retirement

Following his retirement Bedi settled in Jalandhar.[1] He is still actively involved in providing free coaching to youngsters. He also attends coaching camps to provide tips to budding players in The field of Volleyball. His passion and dedication to Volleyball is admirable and second to none.

Awards

Individuals
  • 1962 Arjuna Award
  • 1974 Sportsman of the Year; Punjab Government
  • 1992 President's Police Medal for Meritorious Services

References
  1. "Controversy refuses to die down". The Tribune. 20 May 2010.
  2. Achievements in the field of Sports Border Security Force (BSF) website.
  3. "List of Award winners up to 2004". Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2007. Ministry of Sports Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
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