FIH was recently saddened to learn of the death of Dr. M.A.M Ramaswamy, the former President of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF).
Dr Ramaswamy, who was also a former Vice-President of both the Asian Hockey Federation and the Council of the FIH, passed away at Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai Wednesday 2nd December after a prolonged illness. He was 84 years old.
The veteran industrialist and former parliamentarian served as President of the now defunct Indian Hockey Federation between 1974 to 1980. During his tenure, India won the 1975 Hockey World Cup in Kuala Lumpur before claiming the gold medal at the Moscow 1980 Olympic Games.
Ajit Pal Singh, the renowned striker who captained India to World Cup glory in 1975, described Dr Ramaswamy as “a fabulous man who knew the sport very well”. Speaking to The Times of India newspaper, Ajit Pal said: “He cared for each and every player. He would tell the players to address him as Ramu to build a close bonding. He was a great motivator and he was present in Kuala Lumpur during the World Cup. After every match he would talk to the players and motivate them. After we won the World Cup, he invited the whole team to Chennai for a grand procession. These are some of the sweet memories. It's a great loss for Indian sport.”
As well as Hockey, Dr Ramaswamy was well known in India for a five decade association with horse racing, with horses from his stables notching over 600 ‘Classic’ victories.
FIH would like to offer its sympathies to Dr Ramaswamy’s family and friends at this sad time.
