Hockey Olympian Jaswant Rajput dead

Former Olympic gold medal-winning hockey player Jaswant Singh Rajput Wednesday died at a city hospital following prolonged illness.

"He had been suffering from a chest infection and was quite serious for the past two weeks. He died Wednesday morning at a city hospital. He was aged 86," Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) assistant secretary Khalid Hussain told IANS.

Rajput, who played both as a left-half and centre-half, was part of the hockey team which won independent India's first Olympic gold at the 1948 London Games and a squad member of the gold medal-winning team at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

Born in Delhi, Rajput picked up the game during his school days before shifting base to Kolkata. He started off as a left-half but later in his career preferred playing from the centre and was known for his excellent dribbling skills and ball-control.