Karunakarakurup Udayakumar was an India men's national volleyball team player known for his allround skills at offence and defence and a member of the Indian volleyball team during what many consider as the golden era of Indian volleyball. A former captain of the Indian national volleyball team, Udayakumar was a member of the team, which included

Jimmy George Jimmy George (8 March 1955 – 30 November 1987) was an Indian volleyball player and captain of the Indian national volleyball team. Often dubbed the God of Indian volleyball, he is considered as one of the greatest volleyball players of all ti ...

and Cyril C. Valloor, that won the Bronze medal in the

1986 Asian Games The 1986 Asian Games (), officially known as the 10th Asian Games and the X Asiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1986 (), were held from 20 September to 5 October 1986, in Seoul, South Korea. The venues and facilities of the 10th Asiad were the sa ...

held in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Udayakumar played for the

Kerala police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

Volleyball team. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

, in 1991, honoured his services to Indian volleyball by bestowing on him, the second highest Indian sports award, the

Arjuna Award The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given 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 Arjun ...

Career

Udayakumar was active in club level professional volleyball, too. Opening with

Kerala State Electricity Board Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is an Indian public sector undertaking under the Government of Kerala that generates, transmits and distributes electricity in the state. Established in 1957, the agency comes under the authority of the Po ...

team, he played for Travancore Titanium, before joining

Kerala Police The Kerala Police is the law enforcement agency for the Indian state of Kerala. Kerala Police has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital. The motto of the force is "Mridhu Bhave Dhrida Kruthye" which means "Soft in Temperament, ...

team, in 1985, where he ended his club career. In between, he also played for a professional team in Qatar for a while. After retirement as a player, he coached Dubai Police team and was also active at the organizational level. He was a member of the organising committee for the 2013 National Games held at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...

in November – December 2013. Udayakumar's job career also followed his club commitments. Starting at Kerala State Electricity Board and a short stint at Travancore Titanium, he joined Kerala Police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police and rose in ranks to become the Aide de Camp to the Governor of Kerala. On 19 September 2014, Udayakumar suffered a massive cardiac arrest, while on duty as the aide de camp, and was declared dead, later, at the hospital. He was married to Lekha, a teacher at the Christ Nagar School, and the couple had two daughters, Anjali and Pallavi. In 1991, he was conferred with the

for his contribution to the Indian volleyball.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Udayakumar, K Indian men's volleyball players Malayali people People from Alappuzha district 2014 deaths Volleyball players at the 1986 Asian Games 1960 births Volleyball players from Kerala Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Asian Games bronze medalists for India Asian Games volleyball players for India Recipients of the Arjuna Award Asian Games bronze medalists in volleyball

Career

See also

References