Keshav Dutt

Indian field hockey player (1925–2021)

Keshav Chandra Dutt, also spelt as Keshav Datt (29 December 1925 – 7 July 2021), was an Indian field hockey player and played as a halfback. He was a part of the team that won gold medals at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics. He made 22 international appearances for India and scored two goals in his career. Keshav was the last surviving member of the Indian hockey team which participated at the 1948 London Olympic Games. He was regarded as one of the finest Indian hockey centre half backs.

He was born on 29 December 1925 in Lahore (which was then part of British India before the partition). He pursued his higher studies at the Government College University, Lahore. Dutt served as president of both the CC&FC and Saturday Club.

He was part of the Indian team captained by Dhyan Chand which toured East Africa to play in a hockey tournament in 1947. He was the vice captain of the Indian team at the 1952 Summer Olympics where India secured gold medal in the final against the Netherlands with a comfortable 6–1 win. He was also in the radar for the 1956 Summer Olympics but could not make it into the team due to his professional commitments with Brooke Bond. He played for Calcutta Port Commissioners in 1950 and then joined Mohun Bagan AC in 1951 after accepting the invitation from Jahar Ganguly who served as the then secretary of Mohun Bagan Hockey. He also played badminton, representing Bengal at the national level. He was conferred with the Mohun Bagan award in 2019 and became the first non footballer to receive the award. In 2020, he received the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions in the field of hockey. He also received honorary mention in Dhyan Chand's autobiography Goal where Chand rated Dutt as one of the greatest half backs during the post independence years in India.