July 15th 2022.
Dhanraj Pillay has gone down in history as one of India's best hockey players. He made his international debut in 1989 and went on to have an illustrious 15-year hockey career, captaining India to a glorious resurgence amidst mediocrity.
Dhanraj hails from a humble family in Khadki, Pune and the hockey star got his first start with a broken stick. He initially played hockey for the Ordinance Factory staff colony where his father used to be a groundsman. He went on to become the only Indian to have played in four Olympics, four World Cups, four Champions Trophy and four Asian Games. He even led India to title wins in the 1998 Asian Games and the 2003 Hockey Asia Cup.
One of the most memorable moments of his career was during the finals of the Asian Cup. During a tense situation just ahead of the tie-breaker, Dhanraj withdrew himself as he was not feeling comfortable. He then walked up to India goalkeeper, Ashish Ballal and asked him to take the position under the woodwork for the penalty strokes. Ballal made crucial saves and propelled India to glory, after which Dhanraj walked up to him and asked him for forgiveness for dropping Ashish from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics squad.
Dhanraj and teammate Baljit Singh Dhillon were the backbones of India’s midfield, but off the field, they were always at loggerheads with each other. Once during a match, things took an ugly turn and the duo got involved in a fistfight leaving fans and teammates in shock.
Dhanraj left his home in Khadki after getting into a fight and moved to Mumbai to stay with his brother. He was afraid that he might be nabbed by the police. After India's bronze medal win at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Dhanraj commented, “These boys did what we couldn’t.” It shows Dhanraj's immense respect for the current team and his passion for the sport.
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