Acrobatic goalkeeper Tharma overshadowed by White | Sunday Observer
Sri Lanka’s Best from the Past:

Acrobatic goalkeeper Tharma overshadowed by White

12 June, 2022

K Tharmarajah was an excellent goalie but during his whole career, had to be in the shadow of Asia’s best goal keeper the great Freddie White. In fact he hero-worshipped Freddie so much that when Freddie who was selected to captain the 1962 Asian Games team withdrew due to the non-selection of two players, Tharma followed suit. However, in 1966, Freddie captained the team which included Tharma who stepped down in glory, captaining and managing the 1970 Asian Games team.

Tharma played in 13 National Hockey Championships and no doubt his sterling performance between the posts contributed to the successes of the Government Services HA who won in 1958, 1961, 1963 and runners-up in 1965 and 1969.

Representing the Colombo HA in 1960, his acrobatic saves helped his team beat the favourites Mercantile HA. Playing for the Tamil Union C&AC he was a tower of strength, helping them win the Andriesz Shield and Pioneer Cup on several occasions.

K. THARMARAJAH (born 1933)

Position: Goal Keeper
Clubs: Tamil Union, Malay CC, Colombo and Government Services HA

1960 Tour of North India (Jan/Feb)
1960 Tour of Madras and Mysore (Dec)

1966 Asian Games, Bangkok
1966 Tour of South and

North India

1967 vs India
1968 vs Singapore

1968 Tour of Lahore, Pakistan (pre-Olympic International Festival)
1969 Tour of South and North India (vice captain)

1970 vs Mysore HA
1970 Asian Games, Bangkok (captain)

Malay CC stalwart Adahan

Tony Adahan was a stalwart of both the CR&FC and the Malay CC for over a decade. He went on the first ever tour of the Malays in 1970 and was a tower of strength as left full back, when they won the Pioneer Cup K/O Tournament in 1971.

He captained the 1960 Mercantile hockey team at the National Hockey Championships where they were runners-up. However, Mercantile was victorious when they annexed the coveted Donovan Andree Cup beating the all-powerful Southern Railways team from Madras in the final. Perhaps Mercantile’s best ever victory to date was beating two other Indian teams in the quarter and semifinals.

He was selected as the number one back for Ceylon’s famous tour to North India in Jan/Feb 1960, followed by two Tests versus the Indian Olympic team in 1960.

TONY ADAHAN

Position: Left back
Clubs: CR&FC, Malay CC, Mercantile HA

1960 Tour of North India (Jan/Feb)
1960 Tour of Madras and Mysore (Dec)

1960 vs Indian Olympic team

(2 Tests)

1960 vs New Zealand

‘Corky’ succeeded Mylvanagam

‘Corky’ Abeysekera first came into the limelight when he represented the Government Services HA at the third National Hockey Championships in 1958 when they created a huge upset beating hot favourite Mercantile HA led by the legend Mylvaganam. Young Corky as a half back thwarted many a dangerous attack time and time again. He played in 11 Nationals, captaining the winning team in 1963.

Thus began a remarkable career spanning over a decade at national and international competitions and tours abroad.

He was selected as a full back on his debut tour in Jan/Feb 1960. He fitted in the new position admirably and played in 11 of the 14 matches when Ceylon was ranked between 6th to 10th positions in the world.

He succeeded the great Mylvaganam as a short corner specialist and was an automatic choice throughout his illustrious career. The highlight of his career was when he led Ceylon versus world champions Pakistan in 1962 for two Tests.

In 1973, he went as a coach with the Sri Lanka team’s tour of South and North India.

D.D. (CORKY) ABEYSEKERA (born 1937)

Positions: Back and half back
Clubs: CR&FC, Malay CC, Colombo and Government Services HA

1960 Tour of North India (Jan/Feb)
1960 Tour of Madras and Mysore (Dec)
1960 vs Indian Olympic team

(2 Tests)

1960 vs New Zealand
1961 vs Indian Wanderers
1962 vs Malaysia and Singapore
1962 Asian Games, Djakarta
1962 Tour of Singapore and

Malaysia

1962 vs Pakistan (3 Tests)

(Captain for 2 Tests)

1963 vs Madras HA
1963 vs Mysore HA

1964 vs Great Britain (2 Tests)
1965 vs Indonesia (2 Tests)

1966 Asian Games, Bangkok
1966 Tour of South and North India

1967 vs India (2 Tests)
1968 vs Malaysia (2 Tests)

1968 vs Singapore
1968 Tour of Lahore, Pakistan (pre-Olympic International

Festival)

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