First Olympic medallist from Kerala, hockey player Manuel Frederick dead

Kannur/Bengaluru | Manuel Frederick, the first person from Kerala to win an Olympic hockey medal, died in a Bengaluru hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for cancer, on Friday morning, family sources said.

He was 78.

Frederick, who hailed from Kannur district of Kerala, was the goalkeeper of the Indian team that won the bronze medal by defeating Holland in the 1972 Munich Olympics.

He played for the Indian team for seven years and was honoured 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 started as a striker in football and a goalkeeper in hockey. He became active in hockey through the St. Michael's School team in Kannur.

Born on October 20, 1947, Frederick played in the Bombay Gold Cup at the age of 17 and played his first international match for India in 1971.

He is survived by his two daughters.