Early Life
Pillay spent his youth in the Ordnance Factory staff colony where his father was a groundsman. Playing on the soft, muddy surface of the OFK ground with his brothers and friends from the colony, he learnt his skills with broken sticks and discarded hockey balls, imitating the style of legendary forward and idol, Mohammed Shahid. His mother, whom he gives all the credit for his success, encouraged all her five sons to play hockey despite leading a hand-to-mouth existence.
Dhanraj moved to Mumbai in the mid-eighties to join his elder brother Ramesh, who was playing for RCF in the Mumbai League. Ramesh had already played for India in international matches and his guidance helped Dhanraj develop as a potent, speedy striker. He then moved over to Mahindra & Mahindra where he was tutored by the then Indian coach, Joaquim Carvalho.
Read more about this topic: Dhanraj Pillay
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
““next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims” and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ‘tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jing by gee by gosh by gum”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)
“The poet’s body even is not fed like other men’s, but he sometimes tastes the genuine nectar and ambrosia of the gods, and lives a divine life. By the healthful and invigorating thrills of inspiration his life is preserved to a serene old age.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)