Born on 27th Nov. 1970, Chennai's Thirumalvalavan represented India for about six years in which spell he managed the midfield as a disciplined soldier. He works for Tamil Nadu's top domestic team Indian Bank. He belongs to a family of hockey players from Adayar, a main hockey hub of Chennai. He made his senior international debut at the 1997 Poland Series before making it to the 1998 Indo-Pak Series. Then he did not look back. His career highlight is being part of the team that won the Asian Games gold in 1998 at Bangkok.