Dhanraj Pillay is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the Indian national team.He currently serves as the manager of the team. Also, he is a member of the ad hoc committee of Indian Hockey Federation, formed after the suspension of Kanwar Pal Singh Gill. As a player, he is regarded one of India’s best ever.
Pillay made his debut in 1989 with the national team and in a career spanning over 15 years, appeared for India in four Olympic Games, World Cups and Champion Trophies each. He made 339 appearances for the national team and is recorded, unofficially, to have scored 170 goals. He also played for clubs in countries such as Malaysia, France, England and Germany. Recognizing his achievements, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India in 2000.
Dhanraj Pillay is a retired Indian field hockey player and former captain of the Indian national team.He currently serves as the manager of the team. Also, he is a member of the ad hockey committee of Indian Hockey Federation, formed after the suspension of Kanwar Pal Singh Gill. As a player, he is regarded one of India’s best ever.
Pillay made his debut in 1989 with the national team and in a career spanning over 15 years, appeared for India in four Olympic Games, World Cups and Champion Trophies each. He made 339 appearances for the national team and is recorded, unofficially, to have scored 170 goals. He also played for clubs in countries such as Malaysia, France, England and Germany. Recognizing his achievements, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India in 2000.
He has also played for foreign clubs like the Indian Gymkhana (London), HC Lyon (France), BSN HC & Telekom Malaysia HC (Malaysia), Abahani Limited, HTC Stuttgart Kickers (Germany) and Khalsa Sports Club (Hong Kong). Towards the end of his career Dhanraj played in the Premier Hockey League for the Maratha Warriors for two seasons.
Dhanraj Pillay turned out for the Karnataka Lions in the World Series Hockey being played in India. He scored two goals for his team, captained by ex-India captain Arjun Halappa. He also played for Indian Airlines in Beighton Cup. He is currently the coach of the same team.
AWARDS
He is the recipient of India’s highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 1999–2000. He was awarded the Padma Shri, a civilian award in 2001. He was the captain of the 1998 Asian Games and 2003 Asia Cup winning hockey team. He was awarded the player of the tournament award in the 2002 Champions trophy held at Cologne, Germany. In 2017 East Bengal club conferred Pillay with Bharat Gaurav.
Pillay is currently involved in trying to start a hockey academy at Mumbai. To raise funds for his academy he is heading a drive to collect empty plastic printer cartridges in Mumbai and sell them to a European recycling firm.