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HOCKEY
Michael Kindo: Kindo represented India in the 1972 Olympics and three World Cups at Barcelona, Holland, and Kuala Lumpur. Arguably the greatest tackler in the game. Fleet footed and exceptionally quick in his defensive duties. He is known as one of the best promoters of hockey in Jharkhand. Once there used to be a saying that if one got through Kindo, he had to be a class player.
Sylbanus Dungdung: A member of the 1980 Indian hockey team that won its last Olympic gold at the Moscow Olympics. Dungdung was one of the architects of India’s 4-3 victory over Spain in the final. Poverty-stricken Dungdung is now fighting hard against putting his medals under the hammer to make both ends meet.
Manohar Topno: Once did wonders with his hockey stick. He was a member of the Indian team for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Topno is at present nurturing hockey talents in Jharkhand.
Vimal Lakra: Represents the tribal heritage of Indian hockey. He played a key role in the Indian team’s victory at the Junior World Cup in Australia. Has graduated to the senior team in 1998-99 and never looked back since then.
Savitry Purty: One of the earliest girls from the region to play international hockey. The South Eastern Railway employee is looked up to as the “elder sister” of girls aspiring to play for the country. She is also the general secretary of the Jharkhand Women’s Hockey Association.
Sumrai Tete: Sumrai had the honour of leading the Indian team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where India won silver. Was also part of the squad which won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Ashunta Lakra: Hockey runs in the blood for this lanky lass. Ashunta, Vimal Lakra’s sister was a member of the silver-winning Indian squad at the Melbourne in 2006.
Subhadra Pradhan: This lady was part of the Indian team which secured silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne last year. Also played in the Doha Asian Games and the Afro Asian Games in Hyderabad.
Maseera Surin: She too was part of the silver-winning Indian squad at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Her recent dip in form has raised doubts about her future though.
Guddi Kumari: A cadet at the Divisional Sports Association of the railways, she has represented India Under-19 in hockey.
ATHLETICS
Charles Borromeo: Borromeo won gold at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi. An Arjuna awardee, he represented India in the 1984 Olympics at Los Angeles. He was conferred with the Padma Shri in 1984.
Shivnath Singh: An Arjuna awardee, the late Shivnath Singh, a long distance runner, bagged the 5,000m gold and 10,000m silver in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.
Satish Pillai: Originally from Kerela, he clinched the bronze at the 1974 Tehran Asian Games. He then went on to secure silver in the Asian Athletics Championships in Manilla. He is at present is the chief of Tata Football Academy.
Bageecha Singh: A gold medal winner at the Asian Athletics Championship in Jakarta in 1985. Singh has also won two golds at the South Asian Federation games in 1984 and 1987. He received the Arjuna Award in 1989.
Satnam Singh: This long distance runner (1500m) won the silver in the first South Asian Athletics Championship held in Nepal in 1984. A former national champion, his claim to fame is being the coach of star athlete Sinimole Paulose.
BOXING
Diwakar Prasad: Learnt the nuances of boxing at the Tata Steel Training Centre. Won bronze at the Junior World Boxing Championship held in Cuba in 2002. Has represented the country in the 2003 Commonwealth Championship in Kuala Lumpur and in the Athens Olympics.
Anthras Lakra: Lakra won gold at the Commonwealth Boxing Championship held in Glasgow in 2005. This puglist is a product of the Tata Steel Training Centre.
Aruna Mishra: The most famous woman boxer from Jharkhand. She won gold in the 66kg category at the Asian Women’s Boxing Championship at Hissar (Haryana) in 2005. Has floored many a fancied opponent inside the ring with her swift movements and solid punches.
CHESS
Dibyendu Barua: Second Indian to become a Grandmaster. In 1972 Barua beat the then world No. 2 Grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi in London. In 1978, as a 12-year-old, became the youngest participant in the national championship. Won his maiden national championship in 1983.
Deep Sengupta: Deep has won gold at the World Junior Chess Championship. Has been a role model for emerging chess players in Jharkhand.
Neeraj Mishra: Mishra’s claim to fame is his second place finish after Vishwanathan Anand at the Asian Junior Championship in Hongkong in 1985. An International Master Mishra won bronze at the Asian Team Championship in 1983.
Cricket
Syed Saba Karim: A pretty useful wicketkeeper-batsman, played 34 ODIs and one test match for the country. Sadly, could never cement his place in the side despite gritty performances. His career ended prematurely after being hit on the eye by an Anil Kumble delivery during the Asia Cup in Dhaka.
Subroto Bannerjee: The medium-pacer played one Test and six ODIs for India. Played in the 1992 World Cup. Never managed to cement his place in the side. The 38-year-old has since moved to settle in Australia.
Daljit Singh: This wicketkeeper-batsman represented erstwhile Bihar as a player and later as selector. Though Daljit has never played for India he has left an indelible mark as curator of the famous Mohali cricket ground in Chandigarh.
Shoukat Hamid: A stylish right-hand batsman and a medium pacer, Shoukat was a contemporary of Sunil Gavaskar and played university cricket with elan. He did not have godfathers though and never played for even the Ranji team. Last heard, he had migrated to the Middle East. Does he go to Sharjah to watch cricket?
Ramesh Saxena: The stylish right-handed batsman donned India colours in only one Test — versus England at Leeds in 1967. Saxena played 149 first class matches and scored 8155 runs at an average of 40.37.
Rajen Sanyal: The most illustrious of the famous “Sanyal brothers” (Souren, Robin ) from Ranchi, Rajen led the East Zone team in Duleep trophy for a number of years.
Robin Mukherjee: A fine right-hand batsman who represented Bihar and East Zone for a number of years. A shrewd and cunning captain who never missed any trick in catching the opponents on the wrong foot.
Avinash Kumar: A right-hand batsman, played for East Zone in Duleep and Deodhar trophies. At present, he is training cricketers at the Tata Cricket Academy.
Pradeep Khanna: An aggressive wicketkeeper-batsman in his heydays. Was a regular East Zone player for years.
Randhir Verma: A promising fast bowler who is best remembered for sacrificing his cricket for a career as an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. It remains a mystery why he could never represent the state.
Shahbaz Nadeem: A promising left-arm spinner and a member of the India Under-19 team for quite some time now. Definitely a prospect for the future.
Manjeet Singh: A member of Jharkhand U-19 cricket team, this 18-year-old from Giridih was selected by Sunil Gavaskar Foundation to tour England in 2006. He has shown lots of promise as a right-hand batsman and a leg spin bowler.
Abimanyu Narayan Dev: This 22-year-old deaf and dumb has represented the Indian team in cricket. But lack of government attention has forced him to run a PCO booth to eke-out-living at his residence at Alkapuri.
POWERLIFTING
Inderjit Singh: He has notched up several records in the 72kg category. He now runs a gymnasium, where budding powerlifters and body builders flock for his guidance.
Subrata Dutta: This powerlifter had secured fourth position in the IPF Men’s World Powerlifting Championship in the 56kg category in 1978.
ARCHERY
Jhano Hansda: One of the most promising archers from the state. Jhano set a new World record in the women’s 70m event (compound bow) logging 352 points on the second day of the national ranking archery circuit tournament this year.
Mangal Ho: This talented 14-year-old is the only archer to have been chosen by Group 4 Securicor as their brand ambassador, along with 13 other sportspersons from around the world. Group 4 Securicor has launched a global campaign “G4S Teen Program” to support talented sportsmen for the next 6 years in the build-up to the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Jayanta Talukdar: Talukdar, a Tata Archery Academy cadet, won bronze at the last Asian Games in Doha. After winning gold in the World Cup Archery Championship in Croatia in 2006 he was ranked No. 1 in the world in October 2006. Has been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
Sanjeeva Singh: This Arjuna awardee has been credited with revolutionising the compound division archery in the country. He had claimed bronze in the 5th Asia Cup in 1998 and in the Asian Circuit meets in 2004 at Vietnam and Malaysia.
Reena Kumari: She was part of the Indian contingent that qualified for the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 where they reached the quarter-final stage. Kumari has been an inspiration to many upcoming archers in the state.
Limba Ram: India’s most famous archer; Limba learnt the nuances of the game at the Tata Archery Academy. Limba set a world record and bagged gold in the 1992 Beijing Asian Championship. In 1987, Limba was selected in a talent scouting trial conducted by the Sports Authority of India. In 1987 he created the national record at the Senior National Archery Championship in the 50m and 30m events. Despite putting an outstanding effort, Limba missed out on the bronze by a point in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Chakrovolu Swuro: She is amongst the early cadets from the Tata Archery Academy. Had been part of the national team for many years.
FOOTBALL
Peter Thangaraj: One of the best goalkeepers India has ever produced. The mainstay of the Indian team at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. He was part of the gold- winning Jakarta Asian Games team in 1962. Twice played for the Asian All-Star team. He was selected best goalkeeper of Asia in 1958. Played for illustrious Indian clubs like Madras Regimental Centre, Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting Club. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1967.
Vijay Kumar: A classy midfielder in his heydays, Kumar has donned the India jersey with elan. A regular member of the Indian team from 1986 to 89. Played many years in the Calcutta Football League. He is at present the assistant coach of the Tata Football Academy.
Kappur Banerjee: A footballer from Dhanbad who represented India in the mid-1960s. He has occupied himself in training young footballers over the past couple of decades.
Sushil Kisku: A tribal and a resident of Musaboni in East Singhbhum, Sushil has pushed himself to the final selection round of the national under-20 outfit. He is presently attending the national camp in Goa.
Lakhan Hembrom: Another youngster from the state, Lakhan has come through the Tata Football Academy selection trials last year. His swift movements and raw power have won accolades from the coaches. A bright prospect for future national duty.
Rino Anto: A defender, Rino is held in high esteem by cadets and coaches alike in the TFA. He has represented the country’s Under-19 outfit with elan. His rock solid defending has helped Jharkhand score some vital wins in the national championship.
Others
Rambalak Singh (Swimming): A former national champion, Singh bagged silver at the Asian Games in Bangkok in 1970. He also claimed silver at the Indo-Shillong Acquatics Meet held in Sri Lanka that year.
L. Nageshwar Rao (Karate): This man is credited with introducing Judo and Karate to Jharkhand. He clinched gold at the International Gojuryu Championship held in Malaysia in 2003 defeating the karateka from Croatia. At present, Rao is coaching wannabe karatekas for the future.
Feroz Khan (Handball): Feroz was a member of the Indian team for the Asian Handball Championship in Bahrain in 1993. The team failed to secure any medal but Feroz’s performance was appreciated.He is currently the coach of the Jharkhand Handball team.
Sunil Panda (Basketball): Panda was part of the Indian team for the Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982. He played a major role in the Asian Basketball Championship in Kuala Lumpur just before the Asian Games.
Pradeep Srivastava (Basketball): An international who represented the country in many tournaments. He also took part in the preparatory tournament held in Moscow for the Asian Games in 1982. Currently, Srivastava is the Managing director Tayo Rolls Limited.
Sandeep Ganguly (Badminton): This shuttler from Dhanbad had participated in many national-level badminton championships in the 1970s. He is presently the sports manager of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited.
Barun Burnwal (Muathai, a type of martial art): This 23-year-old won silver at the Indoor Asian Games in free style Muathai in Bangkok in 2005. He now looks after his father’s hotel at Dumri.
