Jarnail Singh is regarded as one of the most outstanding defenders to have donned the Indian colours. The natural athlete that he was, Jarnail took the art of defense to new heights making himself an epitome of strength and stamina. Like many of his illustrious compatriots, Jarnail played a pivotal role in shaping India's football fortunes during the golden era of Indian football. His heroics in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games are part of Indian football folklore now. Braving a nasty head-injury that required six stitches, Jarnail, in his new avatar as a forward, scored crucial goals in the semi-final and final to fetch India its maiden Asiad football gold. Two years later, when India became the runner-up in the 1964 Asia Cup at Tel Aviv, Jarnail was at his best marshalling the defence with authority and guile. After another commendable show at the Merdeka tournament in Malaysia in the same year, Jarnail took over the reins of the team from Chuni Goswami and continued for more than two seasons with a fair bit of success. At the domestic circuit, Jarnail was associated with the Mohun Bagan Club for 10 glorious years when the green-and-maroon team swept all the major titles at the national level. After quitting from Mohun Bagan in 1969, Jarnail went to play for Punjab and inspired the teram to win the first Santosh Trophy in 1970 as a coach-cum-player.

In July 2000 Jarnail Singh (64), widower, had gone to visit his son Harsh Singh in Vancouver (Canada). While on his visit he was rushed to hospital after he complained of breathlessness. Later that day, 13th October 2000 the Legend Jarnail Singh passed away due to an asthmatic disorder.