Renowned hindi commentator Jasdev Singh passes away

Renowned hindi commentator Jasdev Singh (87), who was the voice of Indian sports on Doordarshan, has passed away in New Delhi on September 25, 2018. He was a rare commentator who excelled in commentating on every sport including hockey and cricket. Interestingly, he started his career in All India Radio (AIR) in 1955 at their Jaipur station. He was also the voice of sports in AIR for a long time. From 1963, he was also an official commentator on Independence Day and Republic Day parade broadcasts for 48 long years. He had covered 9 editions of Olympics from Helsinki (1968) to Melbourne (2000), 8 hockey World Cups and six Asian Games. Jasdev was also awarded the ‘Olympic Order’ by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch at the Seoul edition in 1988 for his role in spreading the Olympic movement. He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1985 and Padma Bhushan in 2008.