Leo Pinto, India’s oldest Olympian, passes away

MUMBAI: I will get one Diwali card less this year. The unfailing sender of that card for the last decade or so, golden hockeyOlympian Leo Hillary Knowles Pinto passed away on Tuesday aged 96, the oldest living Indian Olympian or sportsperson. He is survived by his daughter Susan and son Darryl.

His daughter said Pinto’s faculties were gradually failing. “I gave him breakfast this morning and left. He passed away in the afternoon.” His funeral will be held at the St Francis D’Assisi church at Mount Mary steps Bandra at 9.30 on Wednesday.

In 1936, he was a certainty for the Berlin Olympics but for a serious concussion of the brain during the Olympic trials. Pinto was India’s goalkeeper at the London Olympics in 1948 when India won gold. Born in Nairobi, Pinto came to Goa and then Bombay, where he studied at Antonio De Souza and St Stanislaus. At Anza, he learnt to play hockey, football, cricket, badminton and boxing. Athletics also claimed Leo’s interest and in one year he carried off the Junior Championship.

At the age of 13 Leo took, almost instinctively it now seems, the decision to don pads and become a goalie – a position he was later to be hailed as one of the greats in the world of hockey.

He played his first major matches in the Aga Khan Hockey Tournament for the Byculla Rovers at a young age.

He joined St. Xavier’s College and represented the college in all the Inter College tournaments in the company of stalwarts of the game like Owen Ferreira, Willie Fernandes, Thimaya, Fr. Fritz and Owen Pinto.

Pinto had a good life with Tata Sports Club who made him manager of their hockey team even while he was playing. RK Vissanji employed him post-retirement at Wallace Flour Mills. In 1972, Pinto was coach of the Indian Olympic team and served on the Bombay Hockey Association in the 70s. He was also a singer. Bach’s Ave Maria was a favourite.

About his goalkeeping he would say, “I would narrow down the angle for the penalty-corner hitter by advancing towards him. I would watch the pusher and take off.” In his time goalies didn’t face the penalty corner hitters. The one who was fouled would take a penalty bully against the one who made the foul. In the 1948 final against England, Leo was fouled. He removed his pads and took the bully and scored goal No 4 against the England captain. That leaves him unique as a goalie who scored. His work under the bar in the semifinal against Holland was talked of highly. Looking back he had said, “I knew the Dutch would rise to glory from seeing then at London.”

He had felt sorry for Indian hockey and said it would not rise to those heights until they had an astroturf in every corner. He had hoped to see that day dawn. Alas it won’t. Also the century.