Leslie Tisseverasinghe was again another outstanding Tamil Union player from the late 1930s until the mid 50s. His fixed position was at Right Back, where he was an ‘impenetrable wall’ but when he got possession of the ball for himself, he ran down the right wing, dodging past many more agile players and getting to the opponent’s goal. That was something he did once or twice in every match and the Right Half used to immediately move back and take his place in the full back position. He played in several trophy winning teams.
Leslie Tisseverasinghe
Position: Full back
Club: Tamil Union C&AC
1947 vs Afghanistan
1947 vs India (captain)
1947 vs India
1948 vs Indian Olympic team (captain)
Leslie Sellayah was an outstanding hockey player for the Tamil Union and was in several trophy winning teams. His fixed place was at Centre Half from where he skillfully controlled the entire game. His standard of play was much higher than the average player at that time. He played for the Tamil Union for nearly 20 years from the late 1930s until the mid 1950s.
Leslie W Sellayah (Born 1918)
Position: Centre Half
Club: Tamil Union C&AC
1947 vs Afghanistan (captain)
1947 vs India
1950 vs Indian Army Southern Command
M Anthony
M. Anthony was in the fixed position of Left Wing. He would run down the wing and hit the ball right across the circle to enable someone to run in and score a goal. That was Anthony. He was a fearless player who played for the Tamil Union in the 1940s and the 50s.
Position: Left extreme
Club: Tamil Union C&AC
1947 vs India
1948 vs Indian Olympic Team
Fred Pereira
Fred Pereira had the honour of captaining the first ever match for the newly constituted Colombo Hockey Association team against the Madras HA on November 5, 1955 at Police Park, Bambalapitiya.
He also represented the Government Services at the first National Hockey Championships of Ceylon in 1956.
He was a hardworking Centre Half who controlled the flow of the game and earned respect from both his team mates and opponents alike.
Position: Centre Half
Club: Nondescripts Cricket Club
1947 vs Afghanistan
1947 vs India
1950 vs Indian Army SC
1955 vs Madras HA
George Sellayah
George Sellayah played for the Tamil Union for nearly 10 years in the 1940s but he was not very well known in that sphere.
George Sellayah (born 1919)
Position: Half Back
Club: Tamil Union C&AC
1948 vs Indian Olympic team
K Ariyarajah
K Ariyarajah started playing hockey at King George School in Malaysia. He represented the State XI and South Malaya in 1947. As a teenager he was the idol of the Uva hockey from where he hailed. He represented All-Ceylon versus the Indian Olympic team in 1948. Well-built and fleet-footed he excelled as both Centre Forward and Left Extreme. Selected for both Uva and Mercantile, he opted to play for Uva HA at the first National Hockey Championships of Ceylon in 1956, thus missing the opportunity of touring with the Mercantile HA’s first ever tour of South India in 1956.
K Ariyarajah (born 1929)
Position: Left Extreme
Clubs: Old Dhuthians HC and Mercantile HA
1948 vs Indian Olympic team