Raghu Prasad (born 1978)[1] is an Olympic Games panel field hockey umpire from India. He officiated in three Summer Olympic games, four senior World Cups, two Asian Games and one Commonwealth Games. He was named as the International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Male Umpire of the Year for 2025.[2][3][4]
Early life and background[edit | edit source]
Prasad is from Bengaluru, Karnataka. He started playing hockey in Class 6 but his parents wanted him to become a cricketer. He played for Bharat Electronics Limited Colony Youth Association hockey club and former India star Sandeep Michael was his club mate. His first coach was Prakash VR.[5] He studied engineering.[6] He chose hockey leaving a prospective civil aviation career to focus on umpiring.[7] He started his umpiring career with Karnataka State Hockey Association in 1999 officiating the club and state-level matches. His followed his mentor Kannan Krishnamurthy of KSHA, who is also a former international hockey umpire.[7] In 2001, he passed the Indian Hockey Federation national grade umpiring test at the National Junior (Under-19) hockey championship in Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh.[5]
Career[edit | edit source]
By 18 November 2025, he had officiated in 198 international matches and received 33 video umpiring assignments.[8] He began with inter-school and inter-collegiate matches. At 24 years, he made his international debut as an umpire at the Hockey Australia Challenge Cup, a four-nations tournament in Australia in 2003.[1][6] His first match was a high-profile Pakistan-Australia and he was reportedly nervous for the first few minutes but later, the umpires manager, Don Prior appreciated him and gave him some tips.[5]
On 16 July 2009, he was included in the FIH World Development Panel which led to his officiating in World Cups and Olympic Games.[6]
His first big event was at the 2010 World Cup and he went on to officiate in the 2014, 2018 and 2023 Senior World Cups. He first officiated in the summer 2012 London Olympic Games and in Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. He was in the reserves for the Rio 2016 Olympics.[9] He also blew the whistle for two Asian Games in 2018 and 2022 and one Commonwealth Games in 2014.[10]
Hockey India and its president and former international Dilip Tirkey congratulated him on winning the FIH award. He is set to become the first Asian umpire to officiate in 200 international matches at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament 2025 in Malaysia, according to FIH.[11]
He completed 100 senior caps at Fintro Hockey World League in Antwerp and became the third Indian to do so after Satinder Kumar and Javed Shaikh.[6][12]
Awards[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Raghu Prasad Wins FIH Umpire of the Year 2025". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "India's Raghu Prasad named world hockey's male umpire of the year". The Indian Express. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Pioneer, The. "Prasad named FIH Male Umpire of the Year 2025". The Pioneer. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Hockey India congratulates Raghu Prasad RV on being named FIH Umpire of the Year 2025". The Tribune. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Barua, Suhrid (16 July 2017). "Hockey Umpire Interview". The Interview Portal. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Ahuja, Sharath. "10 Things you must know about the Indian Hockey Umpire who just received the Golden Whistle Award". thebetterindia.com. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Deserving Recognition for Raghu Prasad, FIH Male Umpire of the Year". Stick2Hockey. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Ganapathy, Vivek (18 November 2025). "That A Ref'! India's Raghu Prasad Named FIH Male Umpire of the Year 2025". News18.com. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Raghu to officiate at Paris Olympics". The Times of India. 13 September 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ NEWS, OMMCOM (18 November 2025). "Hockey India Congratulates Raghu Prasad RV On Being Named FIH Umpire Of The Year | Sports". Odisha News, Odisha Breaking News, Odisha Latest News || Ommcom News. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ "Irene Presenqui (ARG) and Raghu Prasad (IND) named FIH Umpires of the Year". International Hockey Federation. 18 November 2025. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ↑ Mandapaka, Ravi (28 November 2015). "Raghu Prasad R V, A Referee Above Ranks". The Sports Column | Sports Articles, Analysis, News and Media. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Raghu Prasad at Hockey India
- Raghu Prasad at FIH