Khajan Singh Tokas, true to his name which means treasure and talent, is the most versatile of the three national level swimmers produced by the Tokas clan of Munirka village in Delhi. There was a time when swimming in Delhi was synonymous with the Tokas community, a semi-urban group residing in Munirka village. The most famous son of the community was Khajan Singh Tokas, the 1986 Seoul Asian Games silver-medallist. He was awarded an Arjuna Award by Government of India in 1984. Currently he serves as the Deputy Inspector General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in India.
He made his debut in competitive swimming by winning five Gold Medals at the National School Championships in 1981-82. Six-Footer Khajan entered the National Aquatics Championship at Delhi in 1982 and outclassed all competitors by winning five Gold, two Silver and one Bronze. The following year at the Nationals in Trivandrum, he stroked his way to seven Gold, two Silver and one Bronze. In the National Aquatic Championship at Ahmedabad in 1987, he not only won seven Gold Medals but also created a national record in the 100 metres freestyle with a timing of 55.21 seconds, breaking his own record of 55.34 seconds set in the 1984 South Asian Games at Kathmandu.
In 1986, the Asian Games were held in Seoul and Khajan Singh Crpf took part in the 200m Butterfly event and won a silver medal. After 1951, it was the first medal won by India at the Asian Games. Then, it took 24 years for India to grab a medal at the Asiad. Following that, Khajan won a bronze in 2010 Asiad. In 1988, he won eight gold medals at the Nationals held in Calcutta. In the relay, his team won a silver and a bronze medal. He played for the police relay team in the team events.
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. “Sports helps you grow and I am happy to have served the nation”, he says. The CRPF D.I.G currently runs the "Khajan Singh Swimming Academy", located near the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus in New Delhi. Named after the swimming champion Khajan Singh, this swimming academy is for those who are really-serious about the aquatic sports. They have an Olympic style swimming pool and professional coaches to train the Khajan Singhs of the future. Khajan Singh Tokas is hopeful that the swimming scene in India will change for the better in the future days.
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