V. Baskaran, captain of the 1980 Moscow Olympics hockey team, said Ravinder Pal Singh was a complete player. “His basics were sound. He had speed, endurance and strength. He was not found wanting in any respect. He enjoyed his role as centre-half completely and he came at a time when there was a big vacuum in the centre-half position,” he said.

Ravinder, who played as centre-half in the Indian team at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, died on Saturday after battling Covid-19. He was 61.

Baskaran said he first met Ravinder in 1979 in Patiala during the pre-Olympic training camp. “He was very young then [19 years old] when I met him with Mohammad Shahid. Both were from the Lucknow Sports Hostel. I loved the way Ravinder played,” said the 70-year-old.

On the Moscow Olympics squad, Baskaran said, “It was a settled team with me in left-half position, Somayya in right-half and Ravinder in centre-half.”

According to Baskaran, Ravinder’s best performance at Moscow came during the 2-2 draw against Spain. “He was everywhere, was fearless and played wonderfully well,” he said while adding that Ravinder was a regular feature in the Murugappa All-India invitation hockey tournament. He represented the All India Combined State Bank of India team during the 1980s and ‘90s.