Shankar Lakshman

{{Infobox military person

| honorific_suffix = Padma Shri

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|07|07|df=yes}}{{Cite web|url=https://allaboutbelgaum.com/sports/olympians-from-belgaum/|title=Olympians from Belagavi - All About Belgaum|website=allaboutbelgaum.com|date=11 August 2016}}

| birth_place = Mhow, British India

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2006|04|29|1933|07|07}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/hockey/remembering-shankar-lakshman-indian-hockey|title=Remembering Shankar Lakshman: The forgotten rock of Indian hockey|date=2 January 2015|website=www.sportskeeda.com}}

| death_place = Mhow, India

| nickname = Rock of Gibraltor{{Cite web|url=https://www.oneindia.com/2006/04/29/shankar-laxman-the-hockey-legend-who-died-unsung-1146511506.html|title=Shankar Laxman -- the hockey legend who died unsung|date=2 May 2006|website=Oneindia}}

| birth_name = Shankar Laxman{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/la/shankar-laxman-1.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417235259/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/la/shankar-laxman-1.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-04-17|title=Shankar Laxman Bio, Stats, and Results|website=Olympics at Sports-Reference.com}}

| allegiance = {{IND}}

| branch = {{army|India}}

| serviceyears = 1947 – 1978{{Cite web|url=http://reportmysignal.blogspot.com/2009/09/shankar-lakshman-hockey-wizard-of.html|title=Report My Signal- Blog: Shankar Lakshman: The Hockey Wizard of Maratha Light Infantry|date=20 September 2009}}

| unit = 25px 5 Maratha Light Infantry

| awards = Padma Shri

| rank = 25px Honorary Captain

| module = {{Infobox sportsperson

| embed = yes

| sport = Field hockey

| position = Goalkeeper

| height = 5 ft 5.5 in

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | File:Field hockey pictogram.svg Men's Field Hockey }}

{{MedalCountry | {{IND}} }}

File:Olympic rings.svg

File:Asian Games logo.svg

}}

Honorary Captain Shankar Lakshman (7 July 1933 – 29 April 2006) was an Indian hockey player who played as a goalkeeper. He was part of the Indian team in the 1956, 1960 and 1964 Olympics, that won two gold medals and one silver medal. He was the first goalkeeper to become captain of an international hockey team and was awarded the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri by the Indian government.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/29/guardianobituaries.india|title=Shankar LaxmanIndian hockey captain and goalkeeper, who won two Olympic gold medals|last=Pandya |first=Haresh|date=29 July 2006|work=The Guardian|access-date=13 September 2009}} He was captain of the Indian team which won the gold in the 1966 Asian Games. After missing the selection for the 1968 Olympics, Lakshman quit hockey. He remained with the Army, retiring in 1979 as a captain of the Maratha Light Infantry. He died in 2006 after suffering gangrene in one leg in Mhow.

Early life

Shankar was born on 7 July 1933, in Mhow a small cantonment town in the Indore District of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh, he belonged to the Shekhawat community of Rajasthan. Shankar began his sporting career as a footballer. He was the captain of the football team of Kodaria village in Mhow. He joined the Indian Army as a bandsman in the year 1947. He served in the 5th Battalion of Maratha Light Infantry.{{Cite web|url=http://indoreheartofindia.blogspot.com/2012/07/people-who-make-indore-proud-shankar.html|title=News from Indore: People who make Indore proud -Shankar Lakshman|date=30 July 2012}}

Career

After joining the army, he made the switch to hockey from football. Starting his career in 1955 playing for Services. He earned praises for his goalkeeping, and was selected for the national team, on the back of an impressive run in the domestic circuit.

1956 Olympics

Coached by Sardar Harbail Singh, and managed by Air Commander O.P. Mehra,{{Cite web|url=https://www.sportskeeda.com/hockey/revisiting-india-hockeys-record-breaking-run-at-1956-olympics-its-diamond-jubilee|title=Revisiting India hockey's record-breaking run at the 1956 Olympics on its diamond jubilee|date=15 June 2016|website=www.sportskeeda.com}} India looked poised for another gold medal. The team's captain Balbir Singh Sr. had suffered a fracture in his favoured right hand during the tournament, but the then 2-time Olympic gold medallist set an example by playing through the pain barrier and in the process, notched up his 3rd gold and India's only medal at the 1956 Olympics at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The finals was setup between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, where Shankar kept goal, the only goal came from Randhir Singh Gentle, to beat Pakistan 1–0 and India claimed its 6th consecutive Gold in Field Hockey, while Lakshman was praised for his great saves, against Pakistan's forwards.{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/1956-olympics-india-pips-pakistan-to-win-gold/article3627897.ece|title=1956 Olympics: India pips Pakistan to win gold|newspaper=The Hindu|date=11 July 2012|via=www.thehindu.com}}

1960 Olympics

Captained by Anglo-Indian wizard Leslie Walter Claudius, and marching towards their 7th consecutive Gold medal, the team was brimming with a rare mixture of youth and experience. Strong in the defence where the legendary goalkeeper Shankar Lakshman made for a formidable figure. File:Pakistan - India Hockey Olimpiadi 1960.jpgOnce again the finals was setup between India and Pakistan, it turned out to be a classic as Pakistan went ahead in the 11th minute through a goal by inside-left Naseer Bunda, right-in Hamidi had passed the ball to Nur Alam, the right-out, who in a flash and with a brief run hit the ball in the direction of the ever alert Bunda who dodged one to flick the ball on the left of the net,{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/739491|title=Rome Olympics — Pakistan's glory and the gold|first=Qamar|last=Ahmed|date=3 August 2012|website=DAWN.COM}} the one which a goal keeper of Lakshman's calibre could not stop, India lost 1–0, and were thus dethroned as the Kings of Hockey, much to the backlash of the fans back home.

1964 Olympics

The echoes of the 1960 Olympics defeat could be heard in Tokyo, where the Indian hockey team was not expected to win, at least according to the Indian media that doubted whether the Gold medal could be regained given Pakistan's ascendancy. Managed by Inder Mohan Mahajan, and captained by Charanjit Singh, the Indian team went on to beat Belgium 2–0, in their opening game. India once again met Pakistan in the finals, with India defeating Pakistan 1–0.{{cite web | url=http://www.sportstaronnet.com/tss2847/stories/20051119007507000.htm | title=Sports News Today, Live Cricket Score, Football News, Sports Videos and Match Highlights }} Shankar was declared Man of the Match for his goalkeeping.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXU2aYSW6H0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/SXU2aYSW6H0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Unsung Hero - Shankar Laxman|date=20 July 2012 |via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}

Retirement

After he captained India in the 1966 Asian Games in Bangkok and again beat Pakistan for the gold medal, Lakshman was dropped from the 1968 Mexico Olympics squad, he subsequently announced retirement, in displeasure. India did not do well at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, where India managed a bronze.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/29/guardianobituaries.india|title=Obituary: Shankar Laxman|first=Haresh|last=Pandya|newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 July 2006|via=www.theguardian.com}}

Later life and death

After his retirement from hockey, Lakshman served in the Army, and retired in 1979 as an honorary Captain in the Maratha Light Infantry. Towards the end Laxman lived in neediness, he was diagnosed with gangrene.{{cn|date=March 2025}} Doctors suggested amputation, but Lakshman preferred naturopathic remedies suggested by his friend, the hockey authorities did not pay any heed to his plea for help and were left on his own.{{Cite web|url=http://www.todayindya.com/article/sports/forgotten-hero-s-series-shankar-laxman-first-goalkeeper-to-become-captain-of-an-international-hockey-team/5851|title=Forgotten Hero's Series: Shankar Laxman, first goalkeeper to become captain of an international hockey team, Sports : Today Indya|website=www.todayindya.com}} The Madhya Pradesh government, offered assistance to Lakshman £300, towards his treatment which was considered more to be mortification than help, while Lakshman's grandson condemned what he saw as the lack of interest of the Indian Hockey Federation. Lakshman died on 29 April 2006, after his battle with Gangrene. Laxman was cremated at Mhow with full military honours.

Awards and honours

In 1964, he was awarded India's highest sports honour, the Arjuna award from Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the President of India.{{Cite web|url=http://theviewspaper.net/indian-hockey-the-sport-and-its-forgottten-legends/|title=Indian Hockey, The Sport And It's Forgottten Legends}}
In the 1964 Olympic final against Pakistan, Pakistan's Chef-de-mission Major General Musa said, Give us Joginder and Shankar Lakshman, we will defeat you. It was the ultimate tribute to Shankar.{{Cite web|url=http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/2006/may2006.html|title=March 2006 Bulletin|website=www.bharatiyahockey.org}}
In 1967 he was presented with the prestigious Padma Shri award by the President of India Zakir Husain.{{Cite web|url=https://sports.queryhome.com/3385/keeper-indian-hockey-team-teams-which-medals-olympic-games|title = Who is the goal-keeper of Indian Hockey team/Teams which won gold medals in 1956 and 1964 Olympic Games?|date = 16 May 2017}}
Garrison ground of Mhow has been dedicated to Lakshman, the Infantry School has named it as Honorary Captain Shankar Lakshman Stadium.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/garrison-ground-dedicated-to-padmashri-shankar-lakshman/story-wNkGN6XWD01SkoBLycTjOM.html|title=Garrison Ground dedicated to Padmashri Shankar Lakshman|date=15 December 2006|website=Hindustan Times}}
In 1979 Laxman retired as an Honorary Captain in the Maratha Light Infantry.
During the 1964 Hockey Olympics finals against Pakistan in Tokyo, an Australian Hockey magazine Hockey Circle quoted "for Lakshman, the ball was the size of a football. It was his afternoon of glory and fame."
In 2016, he was posthumously awarded the Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gktoday.in/quiz-questions/who-has-won-the-2016-major-dhyan-chand-lifetime-achievement-award/|title=Who has won the 2016 Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award? - GKToday|website=www.gktoday.in}}

In popular culture

Shankar's name was mentioned in the closing credits of the movie Paan Singh Tomar. It was mentioned in the movie that Lakshman was a four-time Olympic gold medallist,{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/sporting-scene/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-india-at-the-olympics|title=The Agony and Ecstasy of India at the Olympics|first=Amitava|last=Kumar|magazine=The New Yorker |date=13 August 2016|via=www.newyorker.com}} however, this is factually inaccurate, as he was only a two-time Olympic gold medallist.