Overview

In the 1982 National Aquatics Championship at Delhi, Khajan reigned supreme by winning five gold, two silver and one bronze. The following year, at the Nationals in Trivandrum, he raised the bar by clinching seven gold, two silver and one bronze. In 1985, he won the gold medal in the 100 meters freestyle swimming competition held at the Kathmandu South Asian Federation Games and he grabbed a silver medal at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. In 1987, he won seven gold medals at the National Aquatic Championship held at Ahmadabad. In 1988, he secured the third position at the Asian Swimming Championship in Beijing, thereby strengthening his presence at the international stage. Apart from his stronghold over the national title, Khajan Singh Tokas earned international laurels as well. He delivered remarkable performances on a stretch. Due to his excellence in swimming, he was chosen to represent India at the 12th Commonwealth Game at Brisbane (1982), 9th Asian Games at Delhi (1982), 2nd Asian Swimming Championship at Seoul (1984) and friendly International Game at Moscow (1984). In 1984, Khajan Singh Tokas, currently DIG at CRPF, was conferred with the highly prestigious Arjuna Award by the Government of India, for his excellence in swimming sport.

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 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. 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 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 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.