“When an Individual Wins, it is his Country that Rejoices” - Khajan Singh Tokas, CRPF D.I.G

• Khajan Singh Tokas is an Indian sports personality born on 6th May 1964 in Munirka, a village near South West Delhi. He is an expert swimmer in freestyle and butterfly strokes. Khajan Singh who currently works with CRPF remained national swimming champion of India, and won a silver medal at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul.

• Khajan Singh Tokas believes it is important that a sport has an icon to attract youngsters. “Look at cricket. It is so big because it has heroes. You can look at making a career in cricket. Not so in most other sport in India. Boxing and wrestling can be exceptions because they have produced heroes in Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar. An Olympics medal means a lot. A medal makes careers. When I returned from the Asian Games, film stars like Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar offered to raise funds to improve facilities for swimming. But our bosses (at Swimming Federation of India) did not agree. We still have not come out of their negative mindset”, says the swimming champion.

• Khajan’s elder brothers, Balkishan and Dharampal, contributed to swimming too. The Tokas clan made Munirka their home 300 years ago. “We were warriors, more into wrestling and boxing. My family, however, insisted on education and encouraged swimming too, Khajan Singh said remembering the days when he and his friends would run from Munirka to Safdarjang Enclave for a class of swimming. “We hardly saw cars on the roads. Today there is hardly space to park. We would run to the pool and back home to save money”, remembered the old days.

Khajan Singh Tokas CRPF D.I.G

• With the London Olympics on, he said that the event is about dreaming big. It is no more about participation. It is about recognition for a nation. When an individual wins, it is his country that rejoices. We have not matched the development pace of other countries. We wake up once every four years and demand medals from our athletes. That is not fair. Our athletes work very hard but we need to be realistic and not dismiss them with outlandish expectations. We have to identify our strong areas and plan for 2020 from now. Time management is poor in most federation”.

• Khajan Singh met Charulata Rao, his wife, through sports. It was during the camps for the Seoul Asiad. She was an international shooter and he became her most precious target after five years of courtship. Charulata describes Khajan Singh Tokas CRPF as an “honest person, a caring husband and very affectionate father to son Sahil and daughter Vilobhana. He loves helping people, most times going out of the way to ensure they succeed”, she says.

• Having joined the Central Reserve Police Force as a sub-inspector, Khajan, 48, is a Deputy Inspector General now. He loves the Delhi of 40 years ago but has learnt to cope with the modern demands of the city. “I wish the authorities do something about the traffic and population. Law and order needs improvement but it is a great city to live in. Sports helps you grow and I am happy to have served the nation”, Khajan Singh Tokas concluded.