Padma Shri Dhanraj Pillay one of the world's most feared forwards, was born on the 16th of July 1968 at Kirkee, Pune. He started playing hockey at a very early age and considers Mohammed Shahid as his role model. Dhanraj made his debut in 1989 at the Asia Cup and has since held his place as the best forward in the country. Dhanraj who hails from a humble background is grateful and indebted to scores of hockey lovers who are his fans and a great source of encouragement. He has always taken his training and game very seriously and has tried his best to lift Indian hockey. In mordern times he has held his place amidst a cricket crazy nation, and is the only sportsperson in the country to have received the Arjuna Award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, and Padma Shri award. Even today Dhanraj is the most talked about star in hockey circles and his name has become synonymous to Indian Hockey. Dhanraj Pillay has an envious record of having played in four Olympics, four World Cups and four Asian Games. He captianed the Indian team to the 1998 world cup and crowned his career by leading the team to the GOLD MEDAL at the Bangkok Asian Games. Dhanraj has the unique distinction of playing for foriegn clubs in Germany, Holland, Malaysia, France, England and Bangaladesh. |
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| DARE DEVIL DHANRAJ |
| PADMA SHRI. DHANRAJ PILLAY |
| NATIONAL AWARDS 1995 - ARJUNA AWARD 1999 - RAJEEV GANDHI KHEL RATNA 2001 - PADMA SHRI AWARD |
| CAREER HIGHLIGHTS OLYMPICS - 1992 BARCELONA - 1996 ATLANTA - 2000 SYDNEY - 2004 ATHENS WORLD CUP - 1990 LAHORE - 1994 SYDNEY - 1998 UTRECHT - 2002 KAULALUMPUR ASIAN GAMES - 1990 BEIJING - 1994 HIROSHIMA - 1998 BANGKOK - 2002 BUSAN CHAMPIONS - 1995 BERLIN TROPHY - 1996 CHENNAI - 2002 COLONGE - 2003 AMSTELVEEN ASIA CUP - 1989 NEW DELHI - 1999 KUALA LUMPUR AZLAN SHAH - 2000 KUALA LUMPUR SAF GAMES - 1995 CHENNAI COMMONWEALTH - 1998 KUALA LUMPUR GAMES |
| PLAYED IN OVER 400 INTERNATIONAL MATCHES |
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