Len Aiyappa (born 31 March 1979) is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player. He remained one of India's best drag-flickers until he retired from the national team following a fallout with the

Indian Hockey Federation The Indian Hockey Federation was the administrative body of field hockey in India. Incorporated in 1925, it was under the global jurisdiction of the International Hockey Federation. Background The IHF was formed on 7 November 1925 in Gwalio ...

in 2006. He last played for India during the

Sultan Azlan Shah Cup The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event from 1998, following its growth and popularity. The t ...

in 2005.

Career

Aiyappa, playing for Karnataka Lions in the inaugural season of the

World Series Hockey World Series Hockey (WSH) was a professional league for field hockey competition in India. It was organised by Indian Hockey Federation with the objective to reinvigorate hockey in India. It was contested among eight franchise-based teams cons ...

, became the top scorer for the team and third overall by scoring 13 goals in 12 games. He joined the team on the insistence of

Dhanraj Pillay Dhanraj Pillay (born 16 July 1968) is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the India national team. He also looks after the Air India Sports Promotion Board as a Joint Secretary based in Mumbai. For the last 5 years, Dhan ...

and the coach of Karnataka Lions, Jude Felix and scored a hat-trick in the game against

Chandigarh Comets Chandigarh Comets (CCO) was an Indian professional field hockey team based in Chandigarh that played in World Series Hockey. Pakistani striker Rehan Butt was the captain of the team and Harendra Singh was the coach. Sector 42 Stadium was the ...

. He also played for

Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...

in domestic hockey leagues. He also played a crucial role in Bangalore Hifliers winning the fourth edition of the Premier Hockey League at Chandigarh in 2008. He scored the match winner against Chandigarh Dynamos in the third of the best of three finals as Hifliers won 2-1 to lift the trophy. He was also part of the Bangalore Lions team which won the second edition in 2006.

Personal life

He is married.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aiyappa, Len 1979 births Living people Kodava people People from Kodagu district Field hockey players from Karnataka World Series Hockey players Indian male field hockey players