Born on 24th Feb.1959, noted hockey personality Dr. Ajay Kumar Bansal is a successful coach,
administrator and organizer. He graduated from Kurukshetra University in Haryana. He also did a
Sports Diploma from the same University. He did Hockey coaching course from NIS Patiala in 1982 and later in his career headed the Hockey Deptt. of the same institution. After obtaining M.Phil, he completed Doctorate in 2011 at Jamia Milia, Delhi. His thesis was on tribal players. He also did various coaching and Solidarity courses conducted by the IOC and FIH. He was the chief co-ordinator FIH-High Performance Coaching Course conducted by the FIH during the Delhi World Cup.

After completing a successful tenure in Odisha’s tribal hub (Sundargarh), he joined as Director Coaching cum Chief Coach for SAI-Air India National Hockey Academy at New Delhi (1995-2008). This fairly long spell saw him produce many stars including Gagan Ajit Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Danish Mujtaba, Devesh Chauhan, Adrian D’Souza, William Xalxo and other top players who represented the country at Olympics, World Cup, Asian Games besides several other International competitions.

He was the first coach and friend, philosopher and guide of Padamshree Dilip Tirkey. He organized / oversaw many coaching sessions on behalf of various bodies including Hockey India, Sports Authority of India and others.

He was coach of the many State and Institutional teams that took part in the Senior National
Championships, Premier Hockey League (Orissa Steelers) and Hockey India League (Delhi
Waveriders and Kalinga Lancers).

Dr.Bansal was assigned various age group international teams for many intermittent spells. Under
his coaching, India won gold at U-16 Asia Cup (2000) and Junior Asia Cup (2008). He was also coach
of the 2009 Junior World Cup for boys, chief coach for women (2000 to 2002) and men (2008-2009).
India won silver at the Azlan Shah Cup (2008) under his tutelage.

He was awarded Dronocharya Award in 2010.

Complete Biography

He lives in Ghaziabad, near Delhi.

Contact: bansalhockey@gmail.com