Pritam Singh Sandhu was born in Mwanza in Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and started his playing career in Dar-es-Salaam with Khalsa Sports Club. He captained the Khalsa team which won the MR D'Souza Gold Cup in Nairobi in 1954.
He started playing representing hockey for Tanganyika at the age of 17 and played against the touring Indian team led by Dhyan Chand.
He moved to Kenya in 1957 and played for Sikh Union Nairobi.
He scored two goals on his debut for Kenya against England in Nairobi in 1958 and scored 105 goals in 1958/9 season, a Kenya scoring record at the time.
He captained Kenya Hockey Union team against South African Universities in 1960 and went on to represent Kenya at the Rome 1960 Olympic Games.
In 1964 he moved to Mombasa and played for Old Allidinians and then for Sikh Union Mombasa. He also played for the Coast X1, captaining the team against Pakistan touring team in 1965 and India in 1968. Pritam was the secretary of Coast Hockey Association.
He moved back to Nairobi in 1971 and played for Sikh Union Nairobi. He also played for Impala Club Nairobi and was the first Asian to captain the club.
After retiring from playing, Pritam became the Treasurer of Kenya Hockey Union and the secretary of Nairobi Hockey Association. He was the Chairman of Kenya Hockey Union from 1988 to 1992.
He held many Managerial posts with the Kenya team and was the Team Manager at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games. He later took up Golf and became the Chairman of the Royal Nairobi Golf Club.
Sadly Pritam was shot dead by robbers at his home in Nairobi, Kenya on 19 March 1999, aged 68.