Tilakam Gopal

{{short description|Indian volleyball player}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=January 2019}}

{{BLP sources|date=July 2009}}

{{Infobox volleyball player

| name = Gopal Tilakam

| image = Thathaiya.jpg

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1941|08|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Hyderabad, India

| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2012|12|18|1941|08|20}}

| death_place = Hyderabad, India

| spouse = Smt. Devaki Tilakam

}}

T. Gopal (Gopal Tilakam) (born 20 August 1941 - 18 December 2012) was a former volleyball player from India. He captained the India national team at the 1966 Asian Games.{{cite journal |year=1970 |journal=Link |publisher=United India Periodicals |volume=13 |issue=2 |pages=35 |issn=0459-469X }}

Overview

In the Inter-Civil Services All India Tournaments, Gopal represented the Andhra Pradesh Civil Service volleyball team:

class="wikitable" border="1"
Year

! Place of tournament

! Rank

1967

|Nagapur

| Winners

1968

| Madras

| Winners

1969

| Jaipur

|Runners-up

1970

| Ahemabad

| Winners

At the All India Inter Departmental Nationals, he represented the Andhra Pradesh Police Team:

class="wikitable" border="1"
Year

! Rank

1967

| Winners

1968

| Winners

1969

|Winners *

1970

| Winners *

  • means Gopal was captain of the Andhra Pradesh Police Team

At the All India Inter-Police Meets, he represented the Andhra Pradesh Police Team and helped the team to the following results:

class="wikitable" border="1"
Year

! Rank

1960

| Winners

1961

| Winners

1962

|Runners-up

1963

| Winners

1964

| Runners-up

1965

| Runners-up

1965

|Runners-up

1966

| Runners-up

1967

| Runners-up

1968

| Runners-up

1969

|Runners-up

1970

|Third place

At the National Volleyball Championship, he represented Andhra Pradesh:

class="wikitable" border="1"
Year

! Place of tournament

! Rank

1958–59

|Jamshedpur

|Selected to play

1960–61

| Madras

| Selected to play

1970–71

| Delhi

|Selected to play

1971–72

| Jabalpur

| Selected to play

1972–73

|Allahabad

|Reached semi-final

1973–74

| Gwalior

|Reached semi-final

1974–75

| 1.) Madras

2.) Bangalore

|1.)South Zone Championships

2.)Winners of Nationals

1975–76 and 1976–77

| Hyderabad

|South Zone Winners

1977–78

| Calcutta Zonal

|Winners

1978–79

| Trivandrum

|Runners-up

1979–80

| Udaipur

|Selected to play

1980–81

| Gauhati

|Selected to play

International matches

Gopal competed in the following international competitions:

  • Represented the Indian volleyball team in the Inter-National Matches.
  • 1961 – Represented India in the test match against the visiting Japanese team held at Calcutta.
  • 1962 – Was a member of the Indian volleyball team which participated in the Asian Games at Jakarta and received a silver medal.
  • 1963 – Was a member of the Indian volleyball team which toured the USSR. The team won against the Romanian team, who were European champions.
  • 1964 – Was a member of the Indian volleyball team which participated in the Olympics at Delhi in which all the Asian countries participated and won the bronze medal.
  • 1965 – Was a captain of the Indian volleyball team which played five test matches against the visiting USSR team. The tests were played at Delhi, Bhilai, Rowa, Calcutta, and Cuttack.
  • 1965 – The Indian team also played two unofficial matches against the Russian team at Balaghat and Allahabad. Gopal was captain of the team in these matches.
  • 1966 – Captain of the Indian volleyball team which participated in the Asian Games at Bangkok.
  • 1967 – Captain of the Indian team against the visiting Ceylonese volleyball team. The test matches were held at Calcutta and Dalmianagar.
  • 1970 – Member of the Indian team which played five test matches against the visiting Paris University team. (The Paris University team contained six players who represented the French volleyball team) The tests were played at Hyderabad, Trivandrum, Jamshedpur, Udaipur, and Bombay. Gopal was captain of the Indian team at Hyderabad.

=Post-playing career=

After his playing career ended, Gopal did the following:

  • 1981 – Attended International Referee's Course at London (UK) and official matches at the Commonwealth Games in Nottingham.
  • 1982 – Officiated international matches in 9th Asian Games held at New Delhi.
  • 1983 – Officiated test matches between India and USSR in India.
  • 1990 – Visited as a Chief-De-Mission of the Andhra Pradesh team which participated in the international tournament held at Perth, Australia and won third place.
  • 1991 – Visited as Chief-De-Mission of the Indian junior team which participated in the 5th Indian Asian Games held at Bangkok.
  • Senior Vice President of Andhra Pradesh Volleyball Association and retired at the Police Department as a Superintendent of Police, Intelligence.

Awards

Death

Gopal died in Hyderabad on 18 December 2012, at the age of 71

{{cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/other-sports/tilakam-gopal-former-india-volleyball-captain-passes-away/article4213215.ece | title=Tilakam Gopal, former India volleyball captain, passes away | newspaper=The Hindu | date=18 December 2012 }}

References

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