Leslie Walter Claudius (25 March 1927 – 20 December 2012) was an Indian

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 from Bilaspur. He studied in South Eastern Railway (Now SECR) English Medium School Bilaspur, which has produced many national sportsmen. Leslie Claudius shares with Udham Singh the distinction of being one of the only two Indian players to win four Olympic medals in field hockey. To his gold medals in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, he added a silver in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

when he captained the team that reached the final against Pakistan. He was the first player ever to earn 100 caps, and competed for India, in addition to the Olympics, on their European tour of 1949, Malaysian tour of 1952, Australian and New Zealand tours of 1955, and at the 3rd Asian Games in 1958. After the 1960 Olympics, he continued to compete domestically, retiring after the 1965 season. In 1971, he became the sixth Indian hockey player to be given the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Civil award by the Indian government. Leslie Claudius had joined Calcutta Customs Department as Preventive Officer and retired as Assistant Collector of Customs. He was a member of Calcutta Customs Club and represented the Calcutta Port Customs Commissionerate in the Aga Khan Tournament in 1948. Leslie Claudius not only brought international glory but also kept the Calcutta Customs Club flag flying high.

Career

Early career

Claudius was initially interested in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and as an accomplished player, he got a chance to play for the Bengal and Nagpur Railway. But, his talent in field hockey was spotted by Dickie Carr, who was a part of the Indian team that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics. Claudius was then inducted into the Bengal and Nagpur Railway hockey team that Carr was a part of. The team finished second in the Beighton Cup and Claudius quit football for hockey.

International career

Claudius was a member of India's generation of hockey that won the Olympic gold in

and

and silver in

. He was the first hockey player to have competed in four Olympics and also the first to earn a hundred international caps. He captained the Indian team for the first team in 1959, with

Dhyan Chand Major Dhyan Chand (29 August 1905 – 3 December 1979) was an Indian field hockey player. He is widely regarded as the greatest field hockey player in history. He was known for his extraordinary ball control and goal-scoring feats, in add ...

, often considered India's greatest hockey player ever as the coach, and led them to the second-place finish at the

1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to: *The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States *The 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 19 ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Team Manager

Claudius was appointed as the manager of the Indian team in 1978 for the Bangkok Asian Games.

Personal life

Leslie Walter Claudius was born to a middle class

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

family. His son, Robert, was also an Indian international who represented his country at the World Cup in Argentina in 1978. Leslie died after a prolonged battle with cirrhosis of liver. Leslie had three more sons, one who stayed with him in Kolkata and two who live in Melbourne. His son Robert (Bobby) Claudius played Hockey World Cup in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

for India in 1978; he died the same year in Kolkata (then Calcutta) in a road accident.

Awards and recognition

* In 1971 he was awarded the

. * Mention in the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

along with Udham Singh for having won the most number of Olympic medals in field hockey. * In 2011 The West Bengal Chief Minister

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

presented the Bharat Gaurav award instituted by East Bengal Club to Leslie Claudius. * For the 2012 Olympics, the Bushey tube station was renamed after Claudius in the special "Olympic Legends Map". He was one of six all-time hockey greats who were honored in this manner. * In 2012 he was awarded The Banga Bibhushan. * Plassy Gate Road in Kolkata was renamed after him as Leslie Claudius Sarani in 2015.

Death

Claudius died in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

on 20 December 2012, after a prolonged battle with cirrhosis of liver. He was survived by his wife and three sons. He is buried in Lower Circular Road cemetery,

References

Cited sources Further reading *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Claudius, Leslie 1927 births 2012 deaths Field hockey players from Kolkata Field hockey players from Chhattisgarh Olympic field hockey players for India Field hockey players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1960 Summer Olympics Indian male field hockey players Olympic gold medalists for India Indian Christians Olympic silver medalists for India Olympic medalists in field hockey Deaths from cirrhosis Asian Games medalists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 1958 Asian Games People from Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Padma Shri in sports Asian Games silver medalists for India Medalists at the 1958 Asian Games Anglo-Indian people