Ashish Kumar Ballal (born 8 October 1970) is a former Indian goalkeeper of
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
. He represented India in 275 international matches in the
1992 Barcelona Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...
, the
1990 World cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being M ...
, 3
Champions Trophy tournaments (1989, 1993, 1996), 2
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...
(1994, 1998) and 2
Asia Cup
The Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup is a men's One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket tournament. It was established in 1983 when the Asian Cricket Council was founded as a measure to promote goodwill between Asian countries. ...
s (1989, 1993). Ballal became a
household name
Household name may refer to:
* ''Household Name'' (album), a studio album by Momma
* a popular brand, see brand awareness
* a popular person, see celebrity
* a term misused to exaggerate a product, see promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketi ...
in India when he saved two tie-breaker goals in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games final against
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. India, captained by Ballal, went on to win the Asiad hockey gold at Bangkok after a gap of 32 years.
For his outstanding contribution to the game of hockey, Ballal was bestowed with the
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjuna, one ...
in 1997 by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
And the Eklavya Award in 2000 by the government of Karnataka. He coaches hockey players of India.
In a laudable effort, he runs the Ashish Ballal Hockey Academy in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
as his way of giving back to the game of hockey in India.
Personal life
Ballal hails from the
Bunt community and is married to fellow Bunt Sahana. He is a father to two sons, Vansh Ballal and Yash Ballal.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballal, Ashish Kumar
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Indian field hockey coaches
Mangaloreans
Living people
People from Dakshina Kannada district
Field hockey players from Karnataka
1970 births
Indian male field hockey players
Male field hockey goalkeepers
Asian Games gold medalists for India
Asian Games silver medalists for India
Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games
Asian Games medalists in field hockey
Field hockey players at the 1994 Asian Games
Field hockey players at the 1998 Asian Games
1990 Men's Hockey World Cup players
Olympic field hockey players of India
Field hockey players at the 1992 Summer Olympics