Seven feet tall Amritpal Singh a Sub-Inspector in Punjab Police makes hi first striking impression. Born in 1991 at Fattuwal village near Rayya, he has gained reputation for his good conduct and sporting achievements.
When he was 17 years old he took basketball seriously while studying at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Police Public School, Phillaur. Credit goes to his height. Of course, there are some quirks of the game as well. “I often get requests for selfies when I am in public, but that’s because of my height,” he shared lightly.
Amritpal achieved sevral professional sporting highs, which includes 14 years as captain of country’s national basketball team. In 2011, he was made the captain for the Asia Cup team and carried the crown of captaincy till 2025. Since 2011, he has played four times each in the Asia Cup and Asian Championship competitions. He also played once each in the Commonwealth Games and in the Australian league in 2017 Due to his sports career he earned him a job as a sub-inspector under the sports quota. At present he has been posted with the Tarn Taran police.
Helping him hone his skills with the ball and up his game, his colleagues and superiors in the police force have backed him and supported his game. “It’s not just a platform to further boost my career in the police force, but also develop and promote the game. Basketball is a huge sport worldwide and Indians too follow it. But we hardly see any support for the Indian basketball team as we see in the West. We need to bring in money and young athletes to develop the game,” he said.