M. P. Ganesh

Mollera Poovaiah Ganesh (born 8 July 1946) is a former Indian professional field hockey player and coach. He was also the captain and coach of the Indian team. He was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1973 and Padma Shri in 2020.

M. P. Ganesh

Personal information
Full name	Mollera Poovaiah Ganesh
Born	(1946-07-08) 8 July 1946 (age 79) Suntikoppa, Kodagu district, Karnataka, India
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Senior career
Years	Team
1965 - 1973	Services
1974	Bombay
National team
Years	Team	Caps	Goals
1969 - 1974	India	100+
Medal record Men's Field Hockey Representing  India Olympic Games 1972 Munich Team Hockey World Cup 1971 Barcelona Team 1973 Amsterdam Team Asian Games 1970 Bangkok Team 1974 Tehran Team

He was the head coach of the India hockey team at the 1990 Hockey World Cup.^[2]

Personal life

Ganesh was born on 8 July 1946 in the Kodagu (earlier known as Coorg) district in Karnataka. He switched over to hockey when he joined the Indian Army and played in the hockey tournaments from 1966–1973. Ganesh has completed MA in English, Diploma in Sports Coaching from the National Institute of Sports, Patiala and Ph.D in Physical education. Ganesh has 5 siblings (one sister and four brothers) of which 2 brothers, M P Subbaiah and M P Kaveriappa have achieved great laurels in both Football and Hockey at All India and national levels.^[3]

M. P. Ganesh (standing sixth from left) with the Indian hockey team, Seoul Olympics, 1988, as coach

Awards

• Arjuna Award – 1973^[4][5]
• Silver Jubilee Sports Award of Karnataka – 1981
• Padma Shri award – 2020