Guru Dutt Sondhi
Guru Dutt Sondhi (10 December 1890 – 20 November 1966) was the founder of the Asian Games Federation (AGF).
Sports and University Administrator
Guru Dutt Sondhi served in several positions:
- Manager for the Indian Olympic team at the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Olympics
- Secretary of the Indian Olympic Association
- Chairman of the Punjab Olympic Association, 1927-1938[1]
- Principal of Government College University - Lahore, 1939-45;[2] when his term ended in 1945, became sports advisor to the government of India[3]
- The first President of the Amateur Athletic Federation of India (1946–50); and Vice-President of the International Hockey Federation in 1946
- Founder and Key Organiser of the First Asian Games
- International Olympic Committee member for India[4]
The First Asian Games
The idea for Asian sports was reborn during the Asian Relations Conference held under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru soon after India's Independence. The idea was translated into reality during the 1948 London Olympic Games when India’s Guru Dutt Sondhi, a former Principal of the Lahore government college and Vergas, called a six-nation meeting to form the Asian Games Federation (AGF). Following this, the AGF was formalised at Delhi’s Patiala House on February 12–13, 1949, and delegates drafted and accepted a constitution. The five charter members forming the federation were Afghanistan, Burma, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.
The delegates also decided to hold the Asian Games every four years, midway between the Olympic Games; and they agreed on the simple motto which was designed and proposed by G.S. Sondhi: "Ever Onward" on top of an Orange Sun that represents the ever glimmering and warm spirit of the Asian people.