As a teenager, Shankar Laxman quit school to join the Indian Army. Originally a football player, he learned hockey in the Army, and represented the armed forces in the Indian competition, and was soon selected as the goalkeeper for the Indian national team. Playing in a period of intense hockey rivalry - not to mention political tension - between Indian and Pakistan, Laxman played six major international finals, all against Pakistan. He won his first Olympic gold medal in 1956, but then lost three consecutive finals at the 1958 and 1962 Asian Games, and the 1960 Olympics. India recovered to win at the 1964 Olympics and 1966 Asian Games, with Laxman the captain at the latter tournament. After missing the selection for the 1968 Olympics, Laxman quit hockey. He remained with the Army, retiring in 1979 as a captain of the Maratha Light Infantry. He lived the final years of his life in poverty, and died after suffering gangrene in one leg. Following his death, the stadium at the infantry school in his home town Mhow was renamed in Laxman’s honor.
Date of birth earlier given as 4 July 1933, but 7 July listed in obituary.
India