Unique all the way

Forgive me, dear Readers, for introducing you to the hockey legends of my community. I know that I have not done full justice to the illustrious band of men and women who have donned national colours, but, in my defence, I am not trying to write chronological pieces. This week, I explore wider avenues in sport, and I sincerely hope you find my jottings interesting. The unique nature of my community continues to fill me with immense pride.

The first ever Asian to win two, YES, TWO, Olympic medals was an Anglo Indian. His name was Norman Pritchard. He was from Calcutta, and his rise in athletics was so spectacular that he was invited to participate in the Paris Olympics of 1900. He competed under the British flag and secured second place in both the 200 metre sprint and the 200 metre hurdles. The IOC has always credited India with those two silver medals, though the IAAF continues to dispute the claim. For the Press at that time, Pritchard was always the “Indian champion”. I am going one step further, hailing him as the “Anglo Indian” champion of yesteryear, his achievement being bettered only in 2020, when, at the Tokyo Olympics, Neeraj Chopra secured India’s first and only gold medal in athletics.

Pritchard’s prowess on the athletics field may (or may not) have helped him in his next career move. From England he moved to America, where he soon became a rising star of the “silent movie” era. His greatest performance was in the iconic film “Beau Geste”, under the name Norman Trevor. His end came suddenly, at the age of 54, a case of fame and fortune ending in penury.

I have to get back to hockey, because my next Anglo Indian hero is Leslie Fernandes. The remarkable thing about Leslie is that he is from Trichy (my hometown), studied in the famous Campion Anglo Indian Boys School there, and showed less interest in hockey than in other games. His stint with the Corps of Signals, prepared him for greatness as a hockey goalkeeper, though the sheen of his achievements were eclipsed by the mercurial Ashok Kumar and the redoubtable Ajitpal Singh. Leslie was instrumental in India winning it’s first (and only, to date) gold medal in the World Cup Championship of 1975, though he did win a. Silver, under the bar, in the 1974 Teheran Asian Games.

And here is a tale to warm the cockles.

When Leslie was selected for the World Cup squad, he travelled to the Poondi Matha church, in Budalur, Thanjavur district. There he vowed the donate his medals to that famous Christian shrine, if India emerged champions. It was not luck that favoured the Indian team, and Leslie kept his promise. His two medals, gold and silver, are on display in that church, even today. Unique, don’t you think? Better than throwing a gold medal into the river!

Standing tall amongst the world beaters is Wilson Jones, the doyen cueist. Such was his mastery of the green baize that, for over a decade there was none to challenge him. He won the World Amateur Billiards championship in 1958 and repeated the feat in 1964. It was no fluke that he was National Billiards champion for 12 years, together with 5 years as Snooker champion. His achievements led to many players reaching the top, like Michael Ferreira, Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani, to name a few.

In cricket, one name stand out—Roger Bonny. He was one of the architects of India’s 1983 World Cup winning squad, going about his work as an all- rounder with no fuss. He went on to become Chairman of the Board, all the time maintaining his demure composure.

Though Anglo women have participated in sports and games, most of them have not made the headlines. I am definitely not competent to speak about this, but I will say that they have more than made up with their contribution in other fields. Not quite unique, is all I have to say.

More to come next week, dear Readers. Right now I’m celebrating two years of blogging. My, my, how the time has flown!