Ranjit Bhatia

Ranjit Bhatia (27 May 1936 – 9 February 2014) was an Indian athlete and journalist who ran in the marathon and 5000 meters events at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome.^[1][2]

Biography

Ranjit Bhatia was born on 27 May 1936.^[3] He studied at the Lawrence School, Sanawar.^[4] He then attended Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar, matriculating from Jesus College in 1957.^[5]

Bhatia was an active athlete, both at Oxford (awarded a Blue) as well as a member of the Belgrave Harriers. He participated in the 1960 Rome Olympics, coming 60th in the marathon and participating in heats of the 5000 metres race.^[6]

Following a long battle with Parkinson's disease,^[7] Bhatia died on 9 February 2014 in Delhi.^[8]

Career

Following his graduation from Oxford, Ranjit Bhatia returned to India. In 1960, he joined St. Stephen's College, Delhi to teach Mathematics.^[9] He remained there until his retirement as Reader.^[10]

He was a sports writer and presenter. He wrote for Athletics Weekly and covered several Olympic Games for Indian newspapers, including The Statesman.^[10][11]

Bhatia was an active member of the Association of Track and Field Statisticians.^[3] He was also a national-level selector for Indian athletics between 1976 and 1984.^[3]

Among his written works are the Handbook of Indian Athletics,^[3] and the Book of Asian Games.^[12]

Ranjit Bhatia was an administrator for the Indian chapter of the Rhodes Scholarships from 1962 till his retirement in 1997.^[13]

Awards

For his services to the Rhodes Trust and athletics, Bhatia was awarded the OBE.^[8]