Vokkaliga Ramachandra Raghunath (born 1 November 1988)
is a former
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n 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 played as a
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
and was known for his abilities as a
drag flick
Drag flicking is a scoring technique in the sport of field hockey. It was first seen in the late 1980s in Australia. It is used as an attacking technique, mainly within penalty corner involving two main components known as the scoop and flick. The ...
er.
Early life
Raghunath was born on 1 November 1988 to a former Indian field hockey player V. S. Ramachandra and Doddamane Bojamma along with his two sisters, Niveditha Sanketh and Kavana Yatheesh.
Career
Raghunath made his debut for India in the sub-junior side in the 2003 sub-junior Asia Cup in
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
that India won. He made his senior debut in the national side during the bi-lateral series in 2005 against
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, as a replacement to an injured
Sandeep Singh
Sandeep Singh (born 27 February 1986) is an Indian professional field hockey player from Haryana and an ex-captain of the Indian national hockey team. He generally features as a full back and is a penalty corner specialist for the team. He ...
. He was a part of the Indian team that won bronze in the
2007 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
The 2007 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was the 16th edition of field hockey tournament the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
Participating nations
Eight countries participated in the tournament:
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Fixtures and results
''All times are Malaysia Standard ...
, silver in
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, gold in the
2007 Asia Cup and silver in
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
. Having scored six goals in the
2013 Asia Cup, Raghunath was awarded the 'Best Player of the Tournament'.
Hockey India League
In the auction of the inaugural
Hockey India League
Hockey India League (HIL), known as the Coal India Hockey India League is a professional field hockey league in India. The league is organized by Hockey India, the governing body for the sport in India. HIL, along with the Indian Premier League, ...
, Raghunath was bought by the Uttar Pradesh franchise for US$76,000 with his base price being US$13,900. The team was named
Uttar Pradesh Wizards
The Uttar Pradesh Wizards (abbreviated as UPW) are a field hockey team based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh that plays in the Hockey India League. It is owned by Sahara India Pariwar. Former Dutch coach Roelant Oltmans serves as coach for the team an ...
. He captained the team to a third-place finish in the
inaugural season.
He ended the first season having scored 9 goals in 14 games and the second season scoring 8 goals in 12 games.
References
External links
V. R. Raghunathat
Hockey India
Hockey India plans, directs and conducts all the activities for both men and women hockey in India. It is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Govt. of India as the sole body responsible towards promoting Hockey in India. It w ...
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Olympic field hockey players of India
Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Field hockey players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
1988 births
Living people
Field hockey players from Karnataka
People from Kodagu district
Field hockey players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Asian Games medalists in field hockey
Field hockey players at the 2006 Asian Games
Field hockey players at the 2014 Asian Games
Indian male field hockey players
Asian Games gold medalists for India
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for India
Commonwealth Games medallists in field hockey
Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
2006 Men's Hockey World Cup players
2014 Men's Hockey World Cup players
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