Dhanraj Pillay Height, Weight, Age, Family, Biography, Facts & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Dhanraj Pillay
Profession	Indian field hockey player (Retired), Politician
Famous For	Former Captain of the Indian National Field Hockey Team
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in feet inches- 5’ 8”
Weight (approx.)	in kilograms- 65 kg in pounds- 143 lbs
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Field Hockey
International Debut	On 20 December 1989 against China at the Allwyn Cup held in New Delhi
Position	Forward
Domestic/State Team(s)	Indian Airlines, Mahindra & Mahindra, City Mumbai
Coach/Mentor	Leslie Claudius (Mentor)
Records (main ones)	• The only Indian to play in 4 Olympics, 4 World Cups, 4 Champions Trophy and 4 Asian Games • Under his captaincy, India won the Asian Games (1998) and the Asia Cup (2003)
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Recipient of The Arjun Award (1995) • Recipient of The Padma Shri (2001) • East Bengal club conferred him with Bharat Gaurav (2017)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	16 July 1968 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2024)	56 Years
Birthplace	Khadki near Pune in Maharashtra, India
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Cancer
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Khadki near Pune in Maharashtra, India
School	The S V S High School, Khadki
College/University	Not Known
Educational Qualification	Not Known
Controversy	Pillay was not selected in the Indian Team after the win at the Bangkok Asiad. The Management gave the reason that he and 6 other players were made to rest but it was said that it was due to his outburst against the management for improper reception and non-payment of match fees
Girls, Affairs & More
Marital Status	Unmarried
Family
Wife/Spouse	N/A
Children	None
Parents	Father- Nagalingam Pillay Mother- Andalamma
Siblings	Brother- Ramesh Pillay and 3 more Sister- Not Known
Favourite Things
Favourite Hockey Player(s)	Ramesh Pillay, Mohammed Shahid, Zafar Iqbal
Favourite Sportsperson(s)	Saina Nehwal, M.S Dhoni, Viswanathan Anand

Some Lesser Known Facts About Dhanraj Pillay

Does Dhanraj Pillay smoke?: Not Known

Does Dhanraj Pillay drink alcohol?: Not Known

Dhanraj Pillay was born in a poor family, and he spent his childhood in the Ordnance Factory Staff Colony where his father was a groundsman.

As a child, he used to play Hockey on the muddy surface with broken sticks and discarded hockey balls.

Dhanraj Pillay’s elder brother Ramesh Pillay was also a Hockey player who used to play for RCF in the Mumbai League.

He went to Mumbai in his youth and with the guidance of his brother Ramesh, Dhanraj turned into a good striker and was introduced to the professional Hockey.

Dhanraj played in the Junior National Hockey Tournament held in Manipur at the age of 17 years and further played the Sanjay Gandhi Tournament (1987) held in Delhi.

In 1988, he played his first National Hockey Tournament in Delhi.

He impressed everyone by his game and was invited by the famous Hockey player and coach Joquim Carvalho to come and play for Mahindra & Mahindra in Mumbai.

Dhanraj Pillay made his International Hockey debut in the Allwyn Asia Cup Hockey tournament held at New Delhi in 1989; his first match was against China on 20 December 1989.

Pillay also holds the record of being the only Hockey player who has played in 4 Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004), 4 World Cup Tournaments (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002), 4 Champions Trophy Tournaments (1995, 1996, 2002 and 2003), and 4 Asian Games (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002).

He was made the Captain of the Indian Hockey team and under his captaincy, India won the Asian Games (1998), where he was the top goal scorer and also the Asia Cup (2003).

Pillay was also the only Indian player to be included in the World Eleven Team at Sydney World Cup (1994).

In his career spanning from 1989-2004, he played 339 matches and scored around 170 goals.

Dhanraj Pillay played his last match in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

His biography called “Forgive Me Amma” came out in 2007. In the book, he has expressed his sadness about not being able to win a gold in the Olympics and asked forgiveness from his mother.

Pillay started his political career by joining the Aam Aadmi Party in February 2014.

He is also the proud recipient of Arjun Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, and Padma Shri.

He is fluent in Marathi, Tamil (his mother tongue), Hindi, and English.