Manuel Frederick, first Olympic hockey medalist from Kerala passes away

BENGALURU: Manuel Frederick (78), the first Malayali to win hockey medal in the Olympics, has died of cancer. He died Friday morning at Aster CMI Hospital in Bengaluru. He is a native of Kannur. He was the goalkeeper of the Indian team that won the bronze medal after defeating Holland in the 1972 Munich Olympics. Manuel Frederick became the pride of India in the 1978 World Cup held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

He was honored with the Dhyan Chand Award in 2019 for his contributions to sports. He also has the distinction of being the goalkeeper who helped his team win 16 national championships in tiebreakers. Frederick, who started as a striker in football and a goalkeeper in hockey, became active in hockey through the football team of Kannur BEM School. He also played in the Bombay Gold Cup at the age of 17. He retired from the Bengaluru Army Service Corps. He is survived by his wife Sheethal (late) and two daughters Fresheena Praveen (Bengaluru) and Fenila (Mumbai).