Kodagu shining: Arjun Halappa named Indian skipper
Kodagu’s Arjun Halappa has been named the Indian skipper for next month’s Azlan Shah hockey tournament in Malaysia .
A team man to the core, the 30-year-old Halappa is among the most skillful players in the world. The midfielder who made his first international tour as a junior in 1999, is also the only player in the present squad to have played three World Cups. Halappa played a key role in India lifting the junior World Cup in 2001. Though one of the senior most players, captaincy of the Indian team had eluded him in the past few years.
He is the son of B K Halappa and Pramila from Somwarpet and married to Bhavana. Arjun’s father was also a well known hockey player.
Arjun, an employee of Air India, was a key player in the Asian Games at Guangzhou 2010 where India won a bronze medal.
Kodagu, considered a nursery of Indian hockey, has produced some of the finest hockey players in the world, including the legendary B.P. Govinda who also hailed from the Somwarpet area.
