Indian Hockey legend Leslie Claudius hospitalized

Kolkata - Veteran hockey legend and Olympic gold winner Leslie Claudius, suffering from a cirrhosis of the
liver, was admitted to a private hospital after reporting some discomfort.

He was admitted to Woodland Hospitals in South Kolkata last night with breathing problems and other illnesses.

Leslie Claudius had won gold medals with India in the 1948 London Olympics, the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, along with a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics. He is considered by many as India’s best ever hockey player.

The Bengal Hockey Association (BHA), which had planned to confer a Lifetime Achievement award on the Olympian at his residence on Friday, postponed the programme by a day, said BHA secretary Gurbux Singh.

Singh said: “BHA had planned to complete the ceremony in hospital itself by this evening, but the medical authorities did not allow it.He said that since the legendary hockey player has been in and out of hospital over the last few months, the BHA would hand over the Lifetime Achievement award to his son Brandon by Saturday.”

Claudius had been hospitalised five times in this year.