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{{short description|Indian field hockey player}}
{{short description|Indian field hockey player}}
{{moresources|date=February 2019}}
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{{Use Indian English|date=February 2019}}
{{MedalTop}}
{{Infobox field hockey player
{{MedalSport|Men's [[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|Field Hockey]]}}
| name                = Muniswamy Rajgopal
{{MedalCountry|{{IND}}}}
| image                =
{{MedalGold|[[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Helsinki]]|[[Field hockey at the 1952 Summer Olympics|Team Competition]]}}
| image_size          =
{{MedalBottom}}
| alt                  =
| caption              =
| full_name            = <!-- if different -->
| birth_name          = <!-- if different -->
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|1926|03|24|df=y}}
| birth_place          = [[Bangalore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]]<br/>(now in [[Karnataka]], India)<ref name="Manju"/>
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2004|3|3|1926|3|24|df=yes}}
| death_place          = Bangalore, India
| position            = [[Field hockey#Positions|Forward]]
| currentclub          =
| youthyears1          =
| youthclubs1          =
| years1              =
| clubs1              = Hindustan Aircraft
| years2              =
| clubs2              =
| nationalyears1      =
| nationalteam1        = [[India men's national field hockey team|India]]
| nationalcaps(goals)1 =
| medaltemplates      =
{{MedalSport|Men's [[field hockey]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{fhm|India}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1952 Summer Olympics|1952 Helsinki]]|[[Field hockey at the 1952 Summer Olympics|Team competition]]}}
}}


'''Muniswamy Rajgopal''' (24 March 1926 &ndash; 3 March 2004 in [[Bangalore]]) was an [[India]]n [[field hockey]] player.
'''Muniswamy Rajgopal''' (24 March 1926 &ndash; 3 March 2004)<ref>{{cite web |title=March Birthday Listings |url=http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/janmadin/march.htm |publisher=bharatiyahockey.org |access-date=24 May 2022}}</ref> was an Indian [[field hockey]] player. He was a member of the [[India men's national field hockey team|Indian national team]] that won gold medal at the [[1952 Helsinki Olympics]]. He was from his home State of [[Mysore State|Mysore]] (now [[Karnataka]]) to win an Olympic medal.<ref name="dh1">{{cite web |last1=Chander |first1=N. J. Ravi |title=How I came to love hockey |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/right-in-the-middle/how-i-came-to-love-hockey-864449.html |website=Deccan Herald |access-date=24 May 2022 |language=en |date=23 July 2020}}</ref>
This Olympic gold medal winner in 1952, Helsinki, was the first Olympic winner for Karnataka. A member of the undivided Indian team that toured East Africa in 1945, Rajagopal was renowned for his prodigious stickwork skills and hence rightly called the "Artful Dodger". Having made his mark on that tour of East Africa under the legendary Dhyan Chand, Rajagopal moved from strength to strength in his reputation as a remarkable play-maker on the left flank.


A member of the Karnataka team for 15 years from 1945, Rajagopal was also instrumental in his employers team Hindustan Aircraft, now Hindustan Aeronautics, winning the oldest hockey tournament of the world _ the Beighton Cup in Kolkata _ in 1951.
Rajgopal was a versatile player and played as a [[Field hockey#Positions|wing forward]] or inside-right on either wings.<ref name="Malaya">{{cite news |title=INDIAN HOCKEY FED. TEAM ARRIVE TUESDAY |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19540203-1.2.177 |access-date=24 May 2022 |work=The Straits Times |date=3 February 1954 |page=13 |language=en-SG}}</ref><ref name="Malaya54">{{cite news |title=India hockey tourists establish their class |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19540215-1.2.142 |access-date=24 May 2022 |work=The Straits Times |date=15 February 1954 |page=12 |language=en-SG}}</ref> He was nicknamed 'the artful dodger' for his stickwork.<ref name="dh1"/> Rajgopal's contributions to hockey was recognized with Karnataka's [[Rajyotsava Award]] in 2000.<ref name="Manju"/>


Known for his sharp hockey acumen, Rajagopal was also the coach of the State teams, in various age-groups on numerous occasions, the most notable among them the 1975 Junior Nationals triumph in Pune.
== Career ==
=== As player ===
A member of the Mysore team for 15 years from 1945 that competed in the national championships, Rajgopal was also an instrumental part of his employers' team, Hindustan Aircraft (now Hindustan Aeronautics). With the team, he won the [[Beighton Cup]] in 1951, defeating Pakistan's Lahore Bata 1–0 in the final. He toured East Africa twice, first with the undivided Indian team in 1945, and with the Indian team post-independence in 1947–48. He played alongside [[Dhyan Chand]] in the forward line for India and drew frequent comparisons to him from the press. He was called 'Dhyan Chand of the [[Deccan]]'. India scored 13 goals in the gold-medal winning campaign of the [[1952 Helsinki Olympics]] and teammate [[Balbir Singh Sr.]] remarked, "We couldn't have got many of the goals, but for the presence of Rajagopal."<ref name="Manju">{{cite book |last1=Raipalli |first1=Dr Manjunath Sahadevappa |title=A CASE STUDY ON CONTRBUTION OF KARNATAKA HOCKEY PLAYERS TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN HOCKEY |isbn=978-1-387-71237-3 |pages=71–74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GulVDwAAQBAJ |access-date=24 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref>


He was also the coach of the National team in the inaugural Junior World Cup tournament held in Paris in 1979.
With the Indian team, Rajgopal also toured [[South India]] and [[Ceylon]] in 1947, Africa in 1952 and [[Indian field hockey team in Malaya and Singapore|Malaya and Singapore in 1954]].<ref name="Malaya"/> In the 1954 tour, he scored ten goals in 11 matches played.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Indians succeed in their mission |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19540311-1.2.189 |access-date=24 May 2022 |work=The Straits Times |date=11 March 1954 |page=14}}</ref> His game drew comparisons to [[Dhyan Chand]] and the Malayan press labeled him 'another Chand'.<ref name="Malaya54"/>


Rajagopal was also the recipient of the State Government's Rajyotsava Award in 2000.
=== As coach ===
Known for his sharp hockey acumen, Rajgopal was also the coach of the State teams, in various age-groups on numerous occasions, the most notable among them the 1975 Junior Nationals triumph in Pune. He was also the coach of the national team in the inaugural Junior World Cup tournament held in Paris in 1979.<ref name="Manju"/>


==References==
== References ==
*[http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/janmadin/march.htm March Birthdays]
{{reflist}}
 
==External links==
*{{Sports reference}}
*{{Olympedia}}
 
{{Olympic medalists for India}}
{{India FH Squad 1952 Summer Olympics}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajgopal, Muniswamy}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajgopal, Muniswamy}}

Latest revision as of 04:20, 1 July 2022


Muniswamy Rajgopal (24 March 1926 – 3 March 2004)[2] was an Indian field hockey player. He was a member of the Indian national team that won gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was from his home State of Mysore (now Karnataka) to win an Olympic medal.[3]

Muniswamy Rajgopal
Personal information
Born(1926-03-24)24 March 1926
Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore
(now in Karnataka, India)[1]
Died3 March 2004(2004-03-03) (aged 77)
Bangalore, India
Sport
PositionForward
Medal record
Men's field hockey
Representing  India
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1952 Helsinki Team competition

Rajgopal was a versatile player and played as a wing forward or inside-right on either wings.[4][5] He was nicknamed 'the artful dodger' for his stickwork.[3] Rajgopal's contributions to hockey was recognized with Karnataka's Rajyotsava Award in 2000.[1]

CareerEdit

As playerEdit

A member of the Mysore team for 15 years from 1945 that competed in the national championships, Rajgopal was also an instrumental part of his employers' team, Hindustan Aircraft (now Hindustan Aeronautics). With the team, he won the Beighton Cup in 1951, defeating Pakistan's Lahore Bata 1–0 in the final. He toured East Africa twice, first with the undivided Indian team in 1945, and with the Indian team post-independence in 1947–48. He played alongside Dhyan Chand in the forward line for India and drew frequent comparisons to him from the press. He was called 'Dhyan Chand of the Deccan'. India scored 13 goals in the gold-medal winning campaign of the 1952 Helsinki Olympics and teammate Balbir Singh Sr. remarked, "We couldn't have got many of the goals, but for the presence of Rajagopal."[1]

With the Indian team, Rajgopal also toured South India and Ceylon in 1947, Africa in 1952 and Malaya and Singapore in 1954.[4] In the 1954 tour, he scored ten goals in 11 matches played.[6] His game drew comparisons to Dhyan Chand and the Malayan press labeled him 'another Chand'.[5]

As coachEdit

Known for his sharp hockey acumen, Rajgopal was also the coach of the State teams, in various age-groups on numerous occasions, the most notable among them the 1975 Junior Nationals triumph in Pune. He was also the coach of the national team in the inaugural Junior World Cup tournament held in Paris in 1979.[1]

ReferencesEdit

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Raipalli, Dr Manjunath Sahadevappa. A CASE STUDY ON CONTRBUTION OF KARNATAKA HOCKEY PLAYERS TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN HOCKEY. pp. 71–74. ISBN 978-1-387-71237-3. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "March Birthday Listings". bharatiyahockey.org. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chander, N. J. Ravi (23 July 2020). "How I came to love hockey". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "INDIAN HOCKEY FED. TEAM ARRIVE TUESDAY". The Straits Times. 3 February 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "India hockey tourists establish their class". The Straits Times. 15 February 1954. p. 12. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "The Indians succeed in their mission". The Straits Times. 11 March 1954. p. 14. Retrieved 24 May 2022.

External linksEdit

Template:India FH Squad 1952 Summer Olympics


   

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