Karunakarakurup Udayakumar was an

India men's national volleyball team The India men's national volleyball team represents India in international volleyball competitions. It is managed by the Volleyball Federation of India and is currently sponsored by Sahara India Pariwar and Asics. The Indian volleyball team ha ...

player known for his allround skills at offence and defence and a member of the Indian volleyball team during what many consider as the golden era of Indian volleyball. A former captain of the Indian national volleyball team, Udayakumar was a member of the team, which included

Jimmy George Jimmy George (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) is often considered one of the greatest volleyball players of all time and was a member of India men's national volleyball team. He was the first Indian volleyball player to become a prof ...

and

Cyril C. Valloor Cyril Chakkunny Valloor is a former India men's national volleyball team player from Kerala. He represented the country in several competitions, including the 1986 1986 Asian Games, Seoul Asian Games where he captained the Indian team that won ...

, that won the Bronze medal in the

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games ( ko, 1986년 아시아 경기대회/1986년 아시안 게임, Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Cheon gubaek palsip-yuk nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad ( ko, 제10 ...

held in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

. Udayakumar played for the

Kerala police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...

Volleyball team. 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 ...

, in 1991, honoured his services to Indian volleyball by bestowing on him, the second highest Indian sports award, 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 ...

Career

Udayakumar was active in club level professional volleyball, too. Opening with

Kerala State Electricity Board Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is an Indian public sector undertaking under the Government of Kerala that generates, transmits and distributes electricity in the state under government monopoly. Established in 1957, the agency comes unde ...

team, he played for

Travancore Titanium Travancore Titanium Products Ltd (TTP), is the leading manufacturer of anatase grade titanium dioxide in India. The company was incorporated in 1946 at Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, India on the initiative the then Travancore King, ...

, before joining

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperamen ...

team, in 1985, where he ended his club career. In between, he also played for a professional team in Qatar for a while. After retirement as a player, he coached

Dubai Police The Dubai Police Force ( ar, القيادة العامة لشرطة دبي) is the 17,500 strong police force for the Emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. They come under the jurisdiction of the ruler of Dubai, and they cover an area of ...

team and was also active at the organizational level. He was a member of the organising committee for the 2013 National Games held at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

in November - December 2013. Udayakumar's job career also followed his club commitments. Starting at Kerala State Electricity Board and a short stint at Travancore Titanium, he joined Kerala Police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police and rose in ranks to become the Aide de Camp to the Governor of Kerala. On 19 September 2014, Udayakumar suffered a massive cardiac arrest, while on duty as the aide de camp, and was declared dead, later, at the hospital. He was married to Lekha, a teacher at the Christ Nagar School, and the couple had two daughters, Anjali and Pallavi. In 1991, he was conferred with the

for his contribution to the Indian volleyball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Udayakumar, K Indian men's volleyball players Malayali people People from Alappuzha district 2014 deaths Asian Games medalists in volleyball Volleyball players at the 1986 Asian Games 1960 births Volleyball players from Kerala Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award

Career

See also

References