Kishan Lal was an Indian hockey player. He was the captain of the Olympic gold winning Indian National Hockey Team in 1948. He is considered to be one of the best right wingers in the history of field hockey.
Early Life and Career
Kishan was born on February 2, 1917, in Mhow, Central India Agency (currently in the state of Madhya Pradesh, British India. Instead of hockey, Lal gravitated towards Polo as a child and spent many hours fascinatingly watching Polo games.
He began playing hockey when he was 14 years old. At 16 years of age, he began playing for several clubs. In 1937, his talent was noticed by the captain of the Bhagwant Club Hockey Team, MN Zutshi who then brought him over to play in the Tikamgarh’s Bhagwant Cup. In 1941, Lal joined the BB & CI Railway, now referred to as the Western Railway. During this time, he played in many well known hockey tournaments like the Agha Khan Cup, etc., and was a part of the wining team many times.
He became a member of the National hockey team in 1947 and traveled to East Africa under the captaincy of Dhyan Chand. He was made the captain of the National Team in 1948. He led the Indian Hockey Team to victory in the Olympic finals and won the gold for the country. This was independent India’s first Olympic gold. It was the first time that the Indian flag flew in the Olympic stadium in the UK and Jana Gana Mana, the National Anthem was played.
After playing competitive hockey for 28 years, Lal retired and took up a coaching job at the Railways Sports Control Board. As a coach, he is said to have transformed the Railway hockey team into one of the best teams in the world. He was even invited to East Germany and Malaysia as a guest trainer.
Death
On June 22, 1980, Lal was in Madras/Chennai as an invitee to the Murruguppa Gold Cup Hockey Tournament. He was also to cover the second leg final of the tournament as an expert commentator for Doordarshan. But that was his last day on earth. His death was mourned by people from all walks of life.
Lal’s body was brought to his residence in Mumbai/Bombay. Many sportsmen, dignitaries, sports writers, etc. paid their last respects to him. He was later cremated at the Sion Crematorium.
Personal Life and Trivia
- Kishan was honored with the Padma Shri award in 1966 by then President Radhakrishnan.
- He is survived by his widow of 83 years who resides in their family home in Mhow. The couple had 4 sons and 1 daughter. The eldest son, Devki Lal, was also a hockey coach. He died in 2009.
- He was nicknamed ‘Dada.’
- The character of Tapan Das played by Akshay Kumar in the upcoming film Gold is based on the life of Kishan Lal. The film will release on Independence Day, 2018.
