S. K. Uthappa
Sannuvanda Kushalappa Uthappa popularly known as "SK" (born 2 December 1993)[1] is an Indian professional field hockey player. SK is a double Olympian as he was part of the Indian team which secured qualification to the 2012 London Summer Olympic games and again continued his impressive run in the Indian squad which took part in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic games.
Having joined Sports Authority of India, Uthappa has matured superbly as a player. Equipped with a keen hockey brain and the ability to scythe through the toughest of defenses, the Gonikoppal player left an indelible mark at every stage right from his school days at St. Joseph's Indian High School (SJIHS) to his stint with the Karnataka team at the National Championships last year.
Early career
Uthappa picked up the sport as a profession at the age of 8 after growing up watching his brother play hockey for Bangalore University. Uthappa a then student at the Lions School, Gonikoppal had won various sporting events other than Hockey at numerous district level competitions for the school in Coorg. To his credit, Uthappa still holds the state record for scoring the highest no of goals (16) in 5 matches that he played for Coorg team at the age of 11 in the state level competition. He also guided the Coorg team to victory against the mighty Bangalore team ending the Bangalore team's 4 year winning streak. Uthappa was also a National level Basketball player where in he represented Karnataka team in the 49th National Basketball Championships held at Chennai in 2004. During his school days he also represented Coorg in events like badminton and football at the State Level competitions.
Choosing the sport which he loved the most he then moved to Bangalore eight years ago to continue his passion for Hockey at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) center there.[2] Uthappa was a product of the National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) scheme at SJIHS. He joined SAI and ever since has excelled as a player both for his college St. Joseph's College of Commerce and Bangalore University. His performance did not go unnoticed and soon he was playing for the state, Prabhakar, who heads the SAI training centre at the hockey stadium in Akkithimmanahalli. In 2010 he captained Karnataka to Junior Nationals title victory in Pune, defeating hockey powerhouse Punjab in the final.[3] He was adjudged the best player in the 2011 Senior National championship in Bhopal where Karnataka finished runners-up.[4] But a slot in the team wasn't that easy. A groin injury in the first camp put paid to his hopes. He couldn't make an impact at the camp till December before a steady performance in his debut in the recent test series against South Africa in Delhi finally clinched the issue.
His body feint is admirable. He can prove more than a handful for the defenders. His sense of passing is good. However, he can be a fine all-round player if he sharpens his defensive skills, says Prabhakar, who has honed Uthappa's skills ever since the lad was singled out for greater deeds during his formative years. According to the coach, Uthappa can scale greater heights if he worked harder. He has always been laid-back during practice. He would insist that he was confident of doing well during match days. That is one drawback that Uthappa has to rectify. I am sure he will,now that he has made it to the Olympic qualifiers, Prabhakar said.[5]
Debut
Uthappa made his international debut against South Africa on 16 January 2012 during the first match of the Karbonn Cup Hockey five-match test series. He scored a goal in his debut match at the 53rd minute mark. In that series, he featured in 4 matches, winning three, drew one and scored 3 goals in the process. He was also given a special award from Hockey India for scoring in his debut match.
International career
- 2012, Winners of Karbonn Cup Hockey five-match test series between India , S.Africa
- Based on his performances against South Africa, Uthappa was selected to play in the 2012 Olympic Qualification Tournament. He went on to play in all 6 matches in the tournament scoring a goal in the first match against Singapore.
- Visa London International Invitational Hockey Tournament 2012, Olympic Park, London.
- India , France Test series-2012 , Lille, France.
- India , Spain Test Series-2012, Santander, Spain
- India , Netherlands Test Series-2014, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Winners of the India , Australia Test Series-2014, Australia
- India , New Zealand Test Series-2015, Auckland , New Zealand
- Winners of the India , Japan Test Series-2016, New Delhi, India
- 4 Nations Invitational Tournament 2016, Melbourne, Australia
- India , Australia Test Series-2016, Bendigo, Australia
Olympics
1- 2012 London Summer Olympics. SK Uthappa was an integral part of the team and was one of the youngest player in the squad to represent the Indian team at the highest sporting arena. Despite putting a brave and fighting display by the Indian team, they ended up finishing last in their respective group. It was a learning experience for the team as well as a stepping stone for their upcoming international events and to many of their fans to erase the bitter memories of not qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympic games.
2-2016 Rio Summer Olympics Men's field hockey tournament India men's field hockey team qualified for the Olympics by receiving a berth and earning the gold medal from the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon. The Indian Squad was led by an inspirational goal-keeper captain PR Sreejesh and under the guidance of Mr.Roelant Oltmans as the head coach. India put up an impressive show in the group stages qualifying for the quarter final clash against Belgium which they lost 3-1 and finishing 8th overall in the tournament. Intrestingly India was the only team to defeat the tournament champions Argentina 2-1 in their group stage encounter.
Champions trophy
1- 2012 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy,Melbourne,Australia. Indian team finished an impressive 4th place finish loosing to arch rivals Pakistan in the bronze medal encounter.
2- 2014 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy,Bhubaneswar, India was the 35th edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy men's field hockey tournament, where Indian team finished 4th place loosing to Australia 2-1.
3- 2016 Men's Hockey Champions Trophy, London, UK. Indian team took the silver medal in the tournament losing to Australia in the final in a nail biting penalty shoot out which ended up 3-1 in Australia's favour.
World Cup
1- 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup, The Hague, Netherland. India finished off their campaign in the 9th place behind Spain out of the 12 countries which had taken part in the world cup . Australia had won the tournament.
Asia Cup
1- 2013 Men's Hockey Asia Cup,Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. India took the Silver medal in a classic final against S.Korea which they lost 4-3. It was S.Korea's 4th Asia Cup title.
Asian Champions trophy
1- 2016 Asian Men's Hockey Champions Trophy was the 4th edition and was held in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia. India won the Gold medal by defeating Pakistan 3–2 in the final to win the trophy for the second time. The tournament also featured SK Uthappa captaining the Indian team for the first time against Pakistan in the league stages which they won 3-2 . He also captained the squad in an all important semi-final clash against S.Korea which they won in a thrilling Penalty shoot out. Uthappa became one of the youngest captain of the Indian team in this tournament for the level of matured skills and responsibility he has shown over the years.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup
1- 2012 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,Ipoh , Malaysia where the five time champions India took the bronze medal by defeating Great Britain scoring 3–1 in their bronze medal encounter. SK Uthappa Scored a last minute brace against S.Korea earning them the first point of the tournament. 2- 2015 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,Ipoh , Malaysia. India won the bronze medal against S.Korea in an axciting penalty shoot out which they won 4-1.
3- 2016 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup,Ipoh , Malaysia. India won the Silver medal loosing against Australia 4-0
FIH Hockey World League
1- 2012–13 Men's FIH Hockey World League Final, New Delhi, India. The host's finished off an impressive 6th place finish in the tournament defeating the German side 5-4 in a thrilling encounter.
Hockey India League
- In the inaugral edition of the Hockey India League in 2013, SK Uthappa was picked up by the Uttar Pradesh Wizards franchise where he played for 3 editions of the tournament till 2015. In the inaugral edition the UP wizards had finished 3rd place in the tournament which was coached by the Roelent Oltmanns and captained by VR Raghunath.
- In the 4 edition of the HIL season, SK Uthappa was purchased by the Kalinga Lancers Franchise in 2016 , they won the Silver medal in the 2016 season
Awards
1- Ekalavya Award by Government of Karnataka was conferred to SK Uthappa for his outstanding performance in hockey during 2014. The award fucntion took place in Mysore and was presented by Karnataka Chief minister Siddaramaiah in 2016.
See also
References
- ^ "Hockey India - Uthappa Sannuvanda Kushalappa".
- ^ "Youngsters set to live a dream at Olympic qualifiers". ZEE News. 10 February 2012.
- ^ "Uthappa aims for bigger glory". IBN Live. 2 July 2011.
- ^ "SK Uthappa puts Coorg on hockey map once again". India Today. 22 January 2012.
- ^ "Uthappa can be a fine all-round player: Coach". Times of India. 2012.
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