📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Howlader M, Nair A, Gopalan S, Merilä J
Sports
M.J. Gopalan turned down Dhyan Chand’s Olympic hockey team to play a single Test for India
✍️ The Times of India
🗓 29 Aug 2026, 05:42 PM
👁 26
Former dual‑sport talent M.J. Gopalan chose cricket over a place in Dhyan Chand’s gold‑winning Olympic hockey squad, ending up with just one Test appearance for India.
M.J. Gopalan, a gifted sportsman of the pre‑independence era, was contemporaneous with hockey legend Dhyan Chand. When the Indian hockey team prepared for the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Gopalan was reportedly offered a spot in the squad that would go on to win gold. He declined the invitation, opting instead to pursue a career in cricket.
Gopalan’s cricketing journey culminated in a solitary Test match for India. In that appearance he bowled, but his performance did not secure further selection, and he never played another Test for the national side.
His decision meant he missed being part of one of India’s most celebrated Olympic triumphs, but it also highlights the rare crossroads faced by athletes capable of excelling in multiple sports. Gopalan’s brief cricket stint remains a footnote in Indian sporting history, underscoring the personal choices that shape careers.
Gopalan’s cricketing journey culminated in a solitary Test match for India. In that appearance he bowled, but his performance did not secure further selection, and he never played another Test for the national side.
His decision meant he missed being part of one of India’s most celebrated Olympic triumphs, but it also highlights the rare crossroads faced by athletes capable of excelling in multiple sports. Gopalan’s brief cricket stint remains a footnote in Indian sporting history, underscoring the personal choices that shape careers.