Ex-junior star Rajiv Mishra dies at 46

New Delhi, June 23

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Rajiv Mishra, who was one of the stars of the Indian men’s junior hockey team at the 1997 World Cup, has passed away at the age of 46. The former forward was found dead at his residence in Sarsauli area of Varanasi under mysterious circumstances.

According to sources, Mishra might have died a few days back and it was his neighbours who informed the police after a foul smell started to come out of his house. Mishra used to stay alone as he was posted as chief inspector of ticket (CIT) with Northern Railway’s Lucknow Division at Varanasi. Mishra, who hailed from Leeludabait village in Hajipur in Bihar, is survived by his wife and two children.

Famous for his curly long hair tied in a bandana, Mishra was at one point considered the next big thing in Indian hockey.

“He was an exceptional hockey player with extraordinary skills,” Mishra’s childhood coach Prem Shanker Shukla said.

It was Shukla who brought Mishra to Varanasi from Kolkata at the age of 13 after Kolkata’s Entally Athletic Club head Asim Ganguly requested him to help the young player.

Shukla recalled Mishra’s exploits at the Junior World Cup in London, where the forward scored a diving goal against Germany in the semifinals. Though, India lost the final 2-3 to Australia, Mishra stood out with nine goals in the tournament.

But his booming career suffered a setback just before the 1998 World Cup (senior) in Utrecht when he sustained a career-ending knee injury following a body clash with the then Indian goalkeeper AB Subbaiah.

A miss-managed rehabilitation process following a surgery and the lack of support from the then Indian Hockey Federation finally drew curtains on a promising career.