Michael Kindo (28 June 1946 – 31 December 2020) 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 the tribal belt of Jharkhand. He played at full back defender position and represented India and competed in the
1971 Men's Hockey World Cup,
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
,
1973 Men's Hockey World Cup,
1974 Asian Games
The 7th Asian Games (), also known as Tehran 1974 (), were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. This marked the first time the Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East. Tehran, t ...
,
1975 Men's Hockey World Cup. Prior to this he had competed in several local, national and regional competitions. In 1972, he became the first
Adivasi
The Adivasi (also transliterated as Adibasi) are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a recent invention from the 20th century and is now widely used as a self-designation by groups classified as Scheduled Tr ...
sportsperson to be awarded the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Michael was well known for his tackling and dodging skills. He was considered a pioneer in Indian hockey for his no-look pass. According to many of his colleagues, Michael had a clean tackling technique, covered areas well and was a master of ball distribution, which allowed the forwards to play fearlessly. He did the right move at the right time, said former
team India captain
Ajit Pal Singh. He was known as one of the most dependable team players and was almost never in error in the field. Hockey enthusiasts and his team members frequently remark that Michael was a genuine team player who made solid defense an art form.
Early life
Michael Kindo was born in a village in
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
(now
Jharkhand
Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
) on 28 June 1946. He first picked up the hockey stick at RC Boys Middle School in
Kurdeg. After he finished his schooling he joined the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
.
Career
Domestic career
Michael's career took a serious turn when he joined the navy. In his time in the navy, he got selected for and represented the
Services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
hockey team in the
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
from 1966 to 1973. He won the Best Services Sportsman award in 1971.
International career
Kindo made his international debut in 1969 representing
team India in a test series against Kenya. He was a member of the Indian men's field hockey team in the
1972 Munich Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
, winning the Bronze medal.
He had played in all of the first three
world cups
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
. They won Bronze medal in the
1971 world cup; Silver in the
1973 world cup and Gold in the
1975 world cup. He also represented
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in
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 ...
at the
1974 Tehran Asian games.
In the 1975 world cup, Michael injured his ankle and was substituted with
Aslam Sher Khan in the semi-finals against
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
. Khan's efforts dragged India into the finals and Kindo lost his spot in the starting 11 against
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in the final match. The ankle injury denied him a place at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, but Michael shortly quit his international career after the team's dismal performance brought India down to 7th place.
Later Work
Michael joined
SAIL
A sail is a tensile structure, which is made from fabric or other membrane materials, that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may b ...
hockey at
Rourkela
Rourkela () is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of the state capital Bhubaneswar and is ...
in and represented Odisha state in the nationals from 1978 to 1980. He used to hold tournaments for children in his village in Jharkhand. Michael was also a State Team Selector for Odisha in the 1993 Bikaner national championship. He coached hockey at the SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA) at
Rourkela
Rourkela () is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of the state capital Bhubaneswar and is ...
, and was responsible for the installment of
an artificial turf at the academy.
Retirement and legacy
Kindo quietly retired into his Rourkela home, where he lived with his wife and his son's family. In 2010, when he came to the Delhi world cup, he was put through ordinary security checks, unrecognizable by anybody in the crowd. Michael supported the 2011 merger of Hockey India and the Indian Hockey Federation. In the 2012 Olympics, he was upset seeing India's performance at London, Michael criticized and demanded immediate removal of
coach Nobbs.
Michael Kindo died on 31 December 2020 at
Ispat General hospital due to age-related illnesses. According to his family, he was bedridden for quite some time and was suffering from depression.
On Thursday, 1 January, 2021, his body was brought from the morgue to the
Rourkela hockey stadium for the public to pay their respects and was also bestowed upon with the
Guard of Honour
A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...
by the district police. His body was then taken to Hamirpur church and was laid to rest in the church graveyard.
Michael Kindo still remains a tribal icon who instilled the aspiration of tribal hockey all over Gumla-Sundergarh tribal belt. This region is considered a conveyer belt of hockey players today. Former Team India captain and a student of Michael's,
Dilip Tirkey said that the 2023 World Cup being hosted in
Rourkela
Rourkela () is a planned city located in the northern district Sundargarh of Odisha, India. It is the third-largest Urban Agglomeration in Odisha after Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. It is situated about west of the state capital Bhubaneswar and is ...
was made possible by Kindo. According to Tirkey, even though Michael stopped playing decades ago, he never left his association with hockey. Kindo's colleagues from the 1975 gold team used to call him as ''kindi bhai''; they say that he never let the team's spirit go down. Among his team members, he was known as the gentleman defender who was calm-headed, clean-hearted and simple but was very effective in game. According to
Ajit Pal, "We were an attacking side and a lot of us could do that fearlessly because we knew there were players like Michael defending our goal". Michael was one of the first tribals to represent independent India and is the only one to win a world cup. In his honor still today a famous hockey tournament is run by St Mary´s School in the district of Simdega, known as ´Michael Tournament´.
Laurels
List of all medals won and awards received
* Best
Services
Service may refer to:
Activities
* Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty
* Civil service, the body of employees of a government
* Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a ...
Sportsman award — 1971
* Third place,
Barcelona Men's Hockey World Cup — 1971
* 3rd position (Bronze),
Munich Summer Olympics — 1972
*
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 ...
— 1972
* Runner-up,
Amstelveen Men's Hockey World Cup — 1973
* 2nd position (Silver),
Tehran Asian Games — 1974
* Winner,
Kuala Lumpur Men's Hockey World Cup — 1975
Source
Times of India
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References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kindo, Michael
1946 births
2020 deaths
People from Simdega district
People from Rourkela
Field hockey players from Jharkhand
Field hockey players from Odisha
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Field hockey players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Indian male field hockey players
20th-century Indian sportsmen
Olympic medalists in field hockey
Olympic field hockey players for India
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic bronze medalists for India