Dhanraj Pillay is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the India national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dhanraj is overseeing the SAG Hockey Academy in Gujarat funded by the Gujarat Government. He is widely regarded as one of the best Indian players of hockey.
Major Dhyan Chand was an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in addition to earning three Olympic gold medals, in 1928, 1932 and 1936, during an era where India dominated field hockey. His influence extended beyond these victories, as India won the field hockey event in seven out of eight Olympics from 1928 to 1964.
Mohammed Shahid was an Indian field hockey player. He is considered one of India's best to have played the game and was known for his dribbling skills. He was a member of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. He was awarded Arjuna Award in 1980–1981 and Padma Shri in 1986.
Honorary Captain Shankar Lakshman was an Indian hockey player. He was goalkeeper of the Indian team in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics, that won two gold medals and one silver medal. He was the first goalkeeper to become captain of an international hockey team and was awarded the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri by the Indian government. He was captain of the Indian team which won the gold in the 1966 Asian Games. After missing the selection for the 1968 Olympics, Lakshman quit hockey. He remained with the Army, retiring in 1979 as a captain of the Maratha Light Infantry. He died in 2006 after suffering gangrene in one leg in Mhow.
Gurbux ("Gurbakhsh") Singh is a former field hockey player from India who was a member of the India men's national field hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was the Joint Captain at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games where India won bronze medal and the Coach to the Indian team at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. For his outstanding contribution to the country in the field of sports, Gurbux was given the Arjuna Award in the year 1966.
Harbinder Singh is a former field hockey player from India. He started his international career in 1961 at the age of 18 years [youngest member of the team] with a tour to New Zealand and Australia with Indian hockey team. During the span of 12 years from 1961 to 1972 had represented the country in three Olympics – Tokyo 1964 — gold medal [scored highest field goals – 5 out of 9 goals], Mexico 1968 — bronze medal [scored highest field goals – 6 out of 11, including hat-trick against Mexico] and was also selected as a centre forward in the "World XI", in Munich 1972 — bronze medal.
Udham Singh Kular was an Indian Hockey Player from Sansarpur, Jalandhar, Punjab, India. He played in 1952 Summer Olympics Helsinki, 1956 Summer Olympics Melbourne, 1960 Summer Olympics Rome and 1964 Summer Olympics Tokyo. He shares the distinction of being one of only two Indian players to win four Olympic medals, the other being Leslie Claudius.
Adrian Albert D'souza is an Indian field hockey goalkeeper, who made his international debut for the men's national team in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adrian has more than 100 International Caps for his country in all competitions. He has played in all major field hockey tournaments, including the 2006 Hockey World Cup, 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Asia Cup and 2 Champions Trophies. Regarded as one of the most innovative and daring goal-keepers of recent times, Adrian brought the rushing technique to the hockey field. Adrian has competed in 3/4 major international hockey events : the Olympics, World Cup, and Asian Games with a total of 165 caps for his country.
The Pakistan national field hockey team represents Pakistan in international field hockey. Having played its first match in 1948, it is administered by the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), the governing body for hockey in Pakistan. It has been a member of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) since 1948 and was founding member of the Asian Hockey Federation (ASHF), which was formed in 1958. Pakistan is one of the most successful national field hockey teams in the world with a record four Hockey World Cup wins.
Jude Menezes is a former Indian field hockey goalkeeper who is currently the head coach of the Japan women's team. He also served as the goalkeeping coach of the Blacks Sticks Women's Team and the head coach of Auckland Women's Hockey Team. Jude represented India at 133 international matches, prominent among them the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, 1998 Hockey World Cup at Utrecht, Holland and 2002 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He moved to New Zealand in 2002 and is coaching field hockey teams at the highest level.
Ashok Kumar is an Indian former professional field hockey player. He is the son of the Indian hockey player Dhyan Chand. Kumar was known for his exceptional skills and ball control. He was a member of the Indian team that won the 1975 World Cup.
Michael Kindo was an Indian field hockey player from the tribal belt of Jharkhand. He played at full back defender position and represented India and competed in the 1971 Men's Hockey World Cup, 1972 Summer Olympics, 1973 Men's Hockey World Cup, 1974 Asian Games, 1975 Men's Hockey World Cup. Prior to this he had competed in several local, national and regional competitions. In 1972, he became the first Adivasi sportsperson to be awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Islahuddin Siddique, also spelled Islah-ud-Din Siddiqui, is a field hockey player from Pakistan. He was born in Meerut, India.
Sport is a significant part of life in India. The country has a very long sports history, with sports being a part of tradition, culture, finance and entertainment. People in India closely follow various sports and enthusiastically participate in them. Cricket is the most popular spectator sport in the country, and citizens often play it as a recreational activity; it generates the highest television viewership, and features full-capacity audiences in stadiums during international and Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. It is part of popular culture. However, in more recent decades, football has also become another popular sport in terms of broadcast viewership and stadium audience attendance. Kabaddi has grown into the mainstream, as well as badminton, tennis, and athletics. Kho-kho has grown into becoming the fourth-most viewed sport in India. India are the one of the power houses in field hockey. India won World Cup & multiple medals in field hockey in Olympics. During that time, Dhyan Chand was a notable player. Sports such as swimming and badminton are played as recreational activities and for exercise.
Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team. He plays in the Hockey India League for Uttar Pradesh Wizards. Sreejesh played a vital role in the Indian national team's bronze medal win at the 2020 Summer Olympics men's field hockey tournament. He won FIH Player of the Year Awards (2020–21) for best male goalkeeper.
Sardar Surjit Singh Randhawa was an Indian field hockey player, who played for India men's national field hockey team at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He was a full back and captain of India field hockey team. He got his training from DSP Ajit Singh Ahluwalia.
Savita Punia is an Indian field hockey player and is a member of the India women's national field hockey team. She hails from Haryana and plays as the goalkeeper. Savita Punia is also known as "Great Wall of India" because of her phenomenal and outstanding performance in 2020 Summer Olympics. Indian Female hockey team missed the bronze medal in Tokyo Olympic 2020 by just a margin.
Deep Grace Ekka is an Indian female field hockey player. She plays for the Indian Women's Hockey Team. She has been selected for Arjun award in 2022.
Balbir Singh Dosanjh was an Indian hockey player and coach. He was a three-time Olympic gold medallist, having played a key role in India's wins in London (1948), Helsinki (1952), and Melbourne (1956) Olympics. He is regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time, a modern-day Dhyan Chand, a legend of the sport, and is widely regarded as the sport's greatest ever centre-forward. His Olympic record for most goals scored by an individual in an Olympic men's hockey final remains unbeaten. Singh set this record when he scored five goals in India's 6–1 victory over the Netherlands in the gold medal game of the 1952 Olympic Games. He was often called Balbir Singh Senior to distinguish him from other Indian hockey players named Balbir Singh. Singh scored 246 goals from just 61 international caps
Ashish Kumar is an Indian amateur boxer who competes in the middleweight category. He won a silver medal at the 2019 Asian Championships and a gold medal at 2019 Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament held in Bangkok. He also won bronze medal at 2020 Asia/Oceania Olympics Qualifier and represented India in middleweight category at 2020 Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
