The state of Rajasthan had never been famous for producing great football teams or top-class footballers. But there is one exception. In the 1960s and 1970s, Rajasthan Armed Constabulary became one of the most feared sides in Indian domestic football and the man who could claim most of the credit for this was Magan Singh Rajvi, undoubtedly the finest footballer Rajasthan has ever produced. He was a prolific goalscorer, mostly with his deadly headers, which fetched innumerable goals both at the domestic and international level. No wonder he was made the captain of India in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran, a reward he richly deserved after having such a distinguished career at the international level.

In the 1970s, RAC was a team that upset many of the top clubs in the country. In the 1973-74 season, East Bengal was a mighty side that steamrolled every opposition only to be stopped by RAC in the Durand Cup semi-final at the Ambedkar Stadium. If Magan Singh was the pillar of strength in the RAC attack, he was ably backed by his brother Chain Singh, who, too, was a fine footballer in his own right. In the later years, RAC was renamed Rajasthan Police.

At the international level, Magan Singh’s best years came in 1969 and 1970. While the country’s main striker Inder Singh was injured and couldn’t accompany the team in many of the important tournaments, Magan, along with Amar Bahadur, Habib, Subhas Bhowmick and others carried out the responsibility of keeping the Indian forwardline active. They simply did a splendid job as India finished third in the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur and won the bronze medal in the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok defeating strong Japan in the third-place match. Magan was always at the forefront, scoring goals at the crucial moments. Twice he scored during the tournament – first time in the 2-0 win over Vietnam and then again when India defeated Indonesia 3-0. It was one of India’s finest performances during that period and Magan Singh’s contribution can never be forgotten.