Mariappa Kempaiah
Personal information
Full name Mariappa Kempaiah
Date of birth (1932-03-04)4 March 1932
Place of birth Bangalore, Kingdom of Mysore
(now in Karnataka, British India)
Date of death 2 July 2008(2008-07-02) (aged 76)
Place of death Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Height 1.64 m (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1950–1956 Bangalore Muslims
1956–1957 East Bengal
1957–1965 Mohun Bagan
International career
1953–1965 India
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mariappa Kempaiah (4 March 1932 – 2 July 2008) was an Indian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.[1] He played for the India national team at two Olympic Games.[2] Known for his "fitness, work rate and commitment", he was considered one of India's best midfielders.[2][3]

He had also played for India in the International Quadrangle Football tournament, played in the now Bangladesh in 1955 and in Asian Games held in Japan in 1958.[2] At club level, Kempaiah played for Bangalore Muslims till 1956 before he moved to East Bengal where he played for a year. Between 1957 and 1965, he played for Mohun Bagan.[4][5] In the inter-provincial Santosh Trophy, played for Mysore.[2]

Playing career

Kempaiah came into prominence while playing for Bangalore Muslims during the 1950s. He was subsequently discovered by Syed Abdul Rahim,[6] then coach of the India national team, while Kempaiah played for Mysore in the Santosh Trophy in 1954 in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He made his debut for India against Sri Lanka in 1953 and was a regular in the Indian team till 1965. He was part of the team that played at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics.[7][8]

Kempaiah stayed with Bangalore Muslims till 1956 before moving to East Bengal. With them he won the 1956–57 Durand Cup.[2] While at Mohun Bagan, he was teammates of Chuni Goswami, Jarnail Singh and Peter Thangaraj.[9][10][11][12]

Goswami said of Kempaiah, "He never got tired. His tackling, blocking and clearing were excellent. It was for these qualities that he had such a long stint in the Indian team." P. K. Banerjee recalled, "He generally played as right half, but was equally proficient in the central midfield position. He was a tremendous fighter and never got scared."[13]

1956, and 1960 Olympics

At the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, India attained its best outing at the Games as they reached the semi-finals of the tournament. The team was led by Samar Banerjee and India's most successful coach Syed Abdul Rahim,[14][15] who coached the team at both the 1952 and 1960 Olympics. Kempaiah, a competent midfielder, played a crucial role in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where India finished fourth, losing to Bulgaria in the play-off for third place. India reached the first round without playing a scheduled preliminary match. The team received a walkover because Hungary did not play.[16] The team beat hosts Australia 4–2 and reached the semi-finals becoming the first Asian team to do so in Olympic history. At the match against Australia Neville D'Souza scored a hat trick.[14][17] He scored two goals in the first half at the ninth and 33rd minutes. The first was a nod to the rebound from captain Samar Banerjee's shot to the opponent's post. Then in the 33rd minute D'Souza converted a cross from P. K. Banerjee who sent the ball into the net from the right flank. A third goal was scored in the second half at the 50th minute when Banerjee converted a free ball received from a melee between Indian striker Muhammad Kannayan and Australian goalkeeper Ron Lord. The fourth Indian goal was scored by J. Krishnaswamy at the 80th minute. Bruce Morrow scored two goals for the hosts.[14][17]

However, India failed to reach the final losing to Yugoslavia by 4–1 in the semi-finals. There were no goals scored in the first half. D'Souza scored the opening goal in the match for India at the 52nd minute, but in the next 15 minutes Yugoslavia scored three goals at the 54th, 57th and 65th minutes. A mistake by Indian defender Muhammad Salaam led to an own goal at the 78th minute ensuring Yugoslavia's victory in the match.[18] After the loss, India faced Bulgaria in the bronze medal match where they were again defeated by a score of 3–0.[19] With four goals Neville D'Souza became joint top scorer in that edition of the Games with Todor Veselinović of Yugoslavia and Dimitar Stoyanov of Bulgaria.[20] At 1960 Olympics in Rome, India was placed in a group with strong sides from Hungary, France and Peru.[16] The team was led by P. K. Banerjee under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim.[21] Tulsidas Balaram scored two goals, one each in the matches against Hungary and Peru, both of which India lost.[22][23] In the second match Banerjee's goal in the 71st minute would help India hold France to a draw.[24] With two losses and a draw, India placed at the bottom of the group and failed to move to the next round.[25] This was the last time India qualified for the Olympics in football.[26]


Biography

In 2024 biography Olympian M. Kempaiah - Biography of Legendary Midfielder of Indian Football ISBN 978-93-6128-500-4. was written and published by his second daughter Mrs. Sumaa Mahesh Gowda. This book covers the journey of the Olympian achievements during his era.

Individual honours and appreciations

Kempaiah won numerous awards during his playing career as well as after retirement for his contribution to Indian football.

The major awards won by him are:

  • Best Wing Half Award: 1962
  • Facilitated by the Karnataka chief minister for his achievement in sports in 1968
  • Award from the Karnataka Football Association in 1983
  • Sportsman of the Millennium: 2000

Death

Kempaiah died in Bengaluru on Wednesday, 2 July 2008, after a prolonged illness with diabetes.

Other activities

Kempaiah was a very versatile person. He was a boxer before choosing football as a career. He had a lot of long-distance runs to his caliber before his passion for football arose.

Honours

Mohun Bagan

India

Individual

  • Sportskeeda All time Indian Football XI[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Football News, Press Trust of India (22 August 2021). "SS Hakim, 1960 Rome Olympian and son of Syed Abdul Rahim, dies at 82". sportslounge.co.in. New Delhi: Sports Lounge. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kapadia, Novy (15 July 2013). "Mariappa Kempaiah – India's legendary midfielder". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  3. ↑ Kapadia, Novy (2017). Barefoot to Boots: The Many Lives of Indian Football. Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-86815-65-1. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  4. ↑ "Mariappa Kempaiah". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 19 January 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  5. ↑ Kapadia, Novy (12 July 2016). "Amal Dutta: A Man More Sinned Against Than Sinning". sports.ndtv.com. NDTV. Archived from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Qadiri, Faizan (4 September 2015). "Syed Abdul Rahim: The Indian Ferguson | The visionary who guided India to their greatest success". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  7. ↑ "Mariappa Kempaiah". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  8. ↑ "আশি পেরিয়েও কোচিংয়ে প্রবীণতম অলিম্পিয়ান কোচ". eisamay.indiatimes.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Ei Samay Sangbadpatra. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Mukherjee, Soham (30 April 2020). "1960–1965: When Chuni Goswami & co propelled Mohun Bagan to the zenith of success". Goal. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "The Champions – 1950 to 1959". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "1960 to 1969". Mohun Bagan Athletic Club. Archived from the original on 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  12. ↑ Singh, Ujwal (12 August 2020). "Past Masters of Indian Sports: Jarnail Singh Dhillon, the hard tackler who many consider the all-time best Indian defender". firstpost.com. FirstPost. Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  13. ↑ "Former footballers recall Kempaiah's dedication and hard work (Lead)". news.webindia123.com. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 "Match report Australia vs India, 1956 Olympics". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  15. ↑ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The senior Indian team at the 1956 Olympics". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  16. 1 2 Ayush Srivastava. "India's Olympic Heroes: Babu Narayan takes us through his 1956 and 1960 experience". www.goal.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  17. 1 2 Roy, Gautam (1 December 2016). "60 years ago today, India's Melbourne magic created history". ESPN. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  18. ↑ "Match report India vs Yugoslavia". FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  19. ↑ "Match report Bulgaria vs India 1956". FIFA. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  20. ↑ "Player-top goalscorer 1956 Olympics". FIFA. Archived from the original on 24 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  21. ↑ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The Indian senior national team at the 1960 Rome Olympics". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 12 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  22. ↑ "Matches 1960 Hungary". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  23. ↑ "Match report Peru vs India, 1960 Rome". FIFA. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "Match 1960 France vs India". FIFA. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  25. ↑ "Olympic Football tournament 1960, Rome". FIFA. Archived from the original on 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  26. ↑ Chaudhuri, Arunava. "The India National team at the Olympics". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  27. ↑ Chaudhuri, Arunava (1999). "The Indian Senior Team at the 1959 Merdeka Cup". www.indianfootball.de. IndianFootball. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. (information given by Jaydeep Basu, Sunil Warrier, and Gautam Roy).
  28. ↑ "Olympedia – Mariappa Kempaiah". Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  29. ↑ Ghoshal, Amoy (23 November 2016). "All time Indian XI". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.

Bibliography

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