paris olympics 2024: Remembering Govindrao Sawant: Gujarat’s one and only Olympic medalist in six decades

Amid the recent excitement over Manu Bhaker’s bronze medal in Paris, Barodians are reminiscing about Govindrao Sawant, a sportsman from Gujarat who made the state proud by winning a team silver in the 1960 Rome Olympics as part of the Indian hockey team. Sawant remains the only athlete from Gujarat to have ever won an Olympic medal, but his achievement has largely been forgotten over time.“Govindrao Sawant is a legendary figure in our sports history. Our team played outstandingly, winning every match to reach the finals,” said Laxman Karanjgaonkar, secretary of the Gujarat State Athletics Association and executive member of the Athletics Federation of India.

“Although we lost the final to Pakistan and ended as runners-up, Sawant’s silver medal remains a proud achievement. Despite sending many athletes to the Olympics since, no one from Gujarat has won a medal after Sawant,” Laxman Karanjgaonkar added, who is a delegate for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Born on November 25, 1935, in a middle-class family in the erstwhile Baroda state, Sawant showed an early talent for hockey. He initially played for the Bombay province before Gujarat and Maharashtra became separate states in 1960. “Sawant first represented Bombay province in the 1951 Rangaswamy Cup, a senior national hockey tournament. His talent secured him a spot in the Rome Olympics, where he earned a silver medal,” said Vikas Prajapati, assistant director of the physical education department at MS University. Sawant demonstrated his commitment to physical fitness by running 50km between Vadodara city and Padra regularly.

Sawant’s agility and dribbling skills gained considerable attention during the 1950s Aga Khan hockey tournament. “He was a hardworking and talented sportsman,” recalled Sudhir Parab, an Arjuna Award winner. “We participated together in relay races in Vadodara and remained friends until his passing,” he said. Parab, a kho kho player, is the first sportsperson in India to win an Arjuna Award in Indian sports and Gujarat’s first.

Sawant later joined the state reserve police (SRP) and retired as a deputy superintendent of police (DySP). After retiring from hockey in the early 1970s, he significantly contributed to the Baroda District Hockey Association (BDHA), mentoring many young players who went on to represent the state and national teams.Despite his numerous achievements, Sawant faced neglect from the state government. In 2001, he underwent knee replacement surgery at SSG Hospital but lacked the funds to pay for it. “Sawant slipped into depression and died within months of the surgery. His family’s financial condition was poor, and his son even had to drive an auto-rickshaw for a living,” Parab shared.