Len Aiyappa (born 31 March 1979) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

professional

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 ...

player. He remained one of India's best drag-flickers until he retired from the national team following a fallout with the

Indian Hockey Federation The Indian Hockey Federation was the Indian branch of the International Hockey Federation. Background It was the apex governing body of field hockey in India. It was formed on 7 November 1925 in Gwalior. It was the first non-European team to ...

in 2006. He last played for India during the

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998, following its growth and popularity. The ...

in 2005.

Career

Aiyappa, playing for

Karnataka Lions Karnataka Lions (abbreviated as KL) is a hockey team based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India that plays in the World Series Hockey. The team is led by Indian hockey player Arjun Halappa and coached by former Indian captain Jude Felix. The team is o ...

in the inaugural season of the

World Series Hockey World Series Hockey (WSH) was a professional league for field hockey competition in India. It was organised by Indian Hockey Federation and Nimbus Sports with the objective to reinvigorate hockey in India. It was contested among eight franchise ...

, became the top scorer for the team and third overall by scoring 13 goals in 12 games. He joined the team on the insistence of

Dhanraj Pillay Dhanraj Pillay (born 16 July 1968) is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the Indian national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dha ...

and the coach of Karnataka Lions, Jude Felix and scored a hat-trick in the game against

Chandigarh Comets Chandigarh Comets (CCO) is hockey team based in Chandigarh, which is one of the eight teams that plays in World Series Hockey. Pakistani striker Rehan Butt is the captain of the team and Harendra Singh is the coach. Sector 42 Stadium is the home ...

Personal life

He is married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyappa, Len 1979 births Living people Kodava people People from Kodagu district Field hockey players from Karnataka World Series Hockey players Indian male field hockey players