Billimoga Puttaswamy Govinda (born 4 March 1951) was an Indian

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 who played as a

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, and a former captain of the Indian national team.

Career

Govinda was considered one of the fastest hockey players during his time and was known for his ball shooting ability. Govinda's professional career began in the 1967–68 season with

Mohun Bagan Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

. In his inaugural season, the team won the Beighton Cup and the first division. His teammates included Olympians

Gurbux Singh Gurbux ("Gurbakhsh") Singh Grewal (born 11 February 1936) is a former Indian field hockey player who was a member of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics, the bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the g ...

and

Vece Paes Miercurea Nirajului ( hu, Nyárádszereda ) is a town in Mureș County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The following seven villages are administered by the town: * Beu / Székelybő * Dum ...

. Govinda played for India in the three

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 ...

: 1970, 1974 and 1978 with India finishing second in all the three of them. He also played in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, 1973 World Cup in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, 1975 World Cup at

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

which India won beating Pakistan 2-1 in the finals and at the

Montreal Olympics Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pe ...

in 1976. In 1972, Govinda was selected for the World XI team. He was awarded 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 ...

for his contribution to Indian hockey. He then took up the role of the selector for the national hockey team.

References

External links

B. P. Govinda profile
* * 1951 births Living people Olympic field hockey players for India Field hockey players at the 1972 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1976 Summer Olympics Indian male field hockey players Recipients of the Arjuna Award Kodava people People from Kodagu district Field hockey players from Karnataka Olympic medalists in field hockey Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1970 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 1974 Asian Games Field hockey players at the 1978 Asian Games Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for India Olympic bronze medalists for India Medalists at the 1970 Asian Games Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games {{India-fieldhockey-bio-stub