The two-time Olympic hockey gold medallist Keshav Datt dies at the age of 95 on Tuesday. He passed away due to age-related ailments. He lost his life around 12:30 am at his residence in Santashpur, Kolkata.
In the 1948 Olympics, the Indian team defeated Britain by 4-0 at the Wembley Stadium, London to claim the first gold post-independence. A year back from the 1948 Olympics, he has toured East Africa under the captaincy of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand in 1947.
Gyanendro Ningombam, Hockey India President stated, “We are all very saddened to hear about the legendary halfback Keshav Datt’s demise early this morning. he was the lone surviving member of the 1948 and 1952 Olympics Games and today truly feels like the end of the era. We all grew up listening to incredible stories of their memorable outings for independent India at the Olympics and they went on to inspire generations of hockey players in the country.”
The legend Keshav Datt had also captained the Mohun Bagan hockey squad from 1951-1953 and again in 1957-1958. As a Mohun Bagan player, he won the hockey league six times and the Beighton Cup three times in the span of 10 years. Keshav had also received the Mohun Bagan Ratna Award in 2019 and became the first non-footballer recipient of the honour.
