Who is Hari Singh? Indian rally legend missing after Maldives speedboat crash

Indian rally legend Hari Singh remains missing more than 48 hours after he was involved in a speedboat crash in the Maldives.

Published on: Mar 23, 2026, 10:18:56 IST

By Sanya Jain

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Indian rally legend Hari Singh remains missing more than 48 hours after he was involved in a speedboat crash in the Maldives. The speedboat, carrying seven people, overturned early on Friday morning. Industrialist Gautam Singhania was among those who were on the speedboat.

Hari Singh is also known as the "Flying Sikh" and the "Gypsy King" of India

While Singhania was rescued and brought back to Mumbai, the Chandigarh-based rallyist has yet to be traced.

According to a PTI report, Hari Singh is among two people who went missing after the Maldives speedboat crash. A source said both Hari and the captain remain missing but the authorities are not ruling out the possibility of their death.

"Authorities in Maldives have informed that Hari Singh and the captain are believed to be trapped deep within a coral reef in the sea," a source told PTI.

Who is Hari Singh?

Hari Singh, 59, is one of India’s most celebrated rally drivers, widely regarded as a legend in the country’s motorsport scene.

He won the Indian National Rally championship five times in the 1990s, and has represented India at several international rally events. Singh also won the inaugural Asia Zone Rally Championship.

Born and raised in Chandigarh, he is known affectionately in motorsport circles as the “Flying Sikh” and “Gypsy King” for his mastery of the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy in rough terrains.

(Also read: Concern mounts as rallyist Hari Singh remains missing 48 hours after Maldives boat mishap)

In 2015, he was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Force Gurkha RFC India 2015, held in Goa.

Singh served as the Head of Operations at JK Tyre Motorsport. Additionally, he worked with Mercedes-Benz India as a chief instructor.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanya Jain
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.Read More

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