Adrian D'Souza
Encyclopedia
Adrian Albert D'souza is a field hockey
goalkeeper from India
, who made is international debut for the Men's National Team
in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adrian has more than 100 International Caps for his country in all competitions. D'Souza represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics
, where India finished in seventh place. Regarded as one of the most innovative and daring goal-keepers of recent times, Adrian bought the rushing technique to the hockey field. Adrian was the captain of the India
Junior Hockey team, which participated in the Rabobank
2005 Junior Hockey World Cup (Under 21s). His dream is to win an Olympic medal for the country.
Adrian has recently got the Olympic rings tattooed on his torso.
, Orlem, Malad. He was always active in sports and a very good football player.
Hockey, happened to Adrian as an accident, because the regular Goal-Keeper of the team did not report for a game. Adrian played as the keeper, had a broken tooth and promised never to play keeper again. But his coach was impressed and Adrian has since never looked back.
He got his first break in the Air-India Hockey Academy as a 16 year old. After 3 years Adrian was representing India at the Athens Olympics.
By the age of 23, Adrian was capped more than 100 times and played in all major field hockey tournaments, including the 2006 Hockey World Cup, 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Asia Cup and 2 Champions Trophies.
Adrian prefers to wear his lucky number 12 jersey while on the field. He also gets his helmets custom made by OBO. The designs are always made by him.
Adrian D'Souza also plays in the Premier Hockey League
for the Maratha Warriors
.
Represented Senior India at the 2004 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Was a part of the Junior India team that won the 2004 Junior Asia Cup in Karachi, Pakistan. Was awarded the Best Goal-Keeper.
Represented Senior India at a 4 Nation Tournament in Japan.
Represented Senior India at the 4 Nation Rabobank Trophy at Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games for the Indian Hockey Team.
Was selected to represent India in the 4 match (bilateral) Test series between India and Pakistan in Sep-Oct 2004 to be held in Pakistan. Was awarded the Best Goal-Keeper for the Pakistan leg.
Was also awarded the Best Player of the Series for the entire 8 Match Test series between India and Pakistan played in Oct’2004.
Represented India in the prestigious 6 Nation Champions Trophy Challenge In Lahore, Pakistan in December 2004.
Was nominated for the prize of the World's Most Promising Young player Award for the year 2004 by the FIH.
Was a part of the Maratha Warriors team for the inaugural Premier Hockey League 2005.
Represented Junior India in the 6 Nation invitational tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2005.
Was awarded India’s “Player of the Year” for the year 2004 by the Indian Hockey year book.
Was the captain of the Junior Indian Hockey Team at the 2004 Rabo World Junior Hockey Championship held at Rotterdam, Netherlands. India finished 4th in the tournament.
Was awarded the HISA ( Hero Indian Sports Academy ) award for best Indian Hockey player of the year for 2004.
Participated in the inaugural Super League organized by the Pakistan Hockey Federation. Represented Baloch Lions and was awarded the 2nd Best Goal-Keeper award.
Participated in the Champions Trophy in December 2006 in Chennai, India.
Represented India in the 6 match bi-lateral series with Pakistan in February 2006 and the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne, Australia.
Represented India at the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India won a bronze medal.
Represented India at the FIH World Cup 2006 in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Represented India at the Doha Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Qatar.
Selected to represent Maratha Warriors in the 2007 PHL.
Adrian was part of the squad that won Bronze medal at the 2007 Champions Challenge in Boom, Belgium.
Adrian was also part of the Gold Medal winning Indian hockey team at the 2007 Men's Asia Cup.
Adrian was then took part in his first stint in for an International Club. Adrian played for Koln club (Marienburger SC :de:Marienburger SC) in Germany.
Was selected to represent Maratha Warriors in PHL 2008.
Due to a hamstring injury Adrian had to pull out from the Olympic Qualifier camp. India, unfortunately could not beat Great Britain in the final and missed the Olympics for the first time in 80 years. Adrian, along with Mom and Dad watched the game in Mumbai. At the end of the game, Adrian was devastated. He could not believe it was happening. He never ever dreamt that India would not make it. But the loss, made his stronger and he now dreams to play 2012 and be the best in the business.
Adrian was back after a break of 2 months and was selected for the 2 legged 4 Nation tournament in Perth and Darwin. The tournament also included hosts Australia, China and Asian power-house South Korea. Adrian was back to doing what he does best. Impressing one and all, Adrian was the number 1 again. Even though India did not have a successful trip down under, Adrian was feeling good about his form.
The 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah, was all Adrian. It ranks as one of his top 2 performances for India. The other being the 2005 India-Pakistan series. The Sohail Abbas-Adrian Dsouza confrontation was unforgettable then.
Adrian was spectacular and was the most important factor in India making it to the final. His performance against Pakistan was a classic piece of how goal-keeping under pressure is to be performed. Adrian foiled attack after attack. The Pakistan team needed only a draw to make it through to the finals. They were 1-2 trailing and had 10 minutes to score that one goal that would put them into the finals. But between Pakistan's route to the final and India's loss stood 1 strong wall. Adrian, made at least 5 sure goal scoring saves. The most crucial coming when 45 seconds were left. But, unlike previous occasions where India usually concede a goal in the dying seconds to leave the fans heart-broken, this was different. No disappointments today. Adrian took India to the brink of the final. India needed only a win against the host team. Malaysia lay at the bottom of the table and the final was almost a certainty.
Adrian's performance was lauded by one and all. As a matter of fact even the Pakistan coach admitted it was Adrian who made the difference. Some quotes by Naved Alam after the match.
"He gave you the victory."
"We have lost because of goalkeeping. We lost because our strikers are not doing their job. We had many chances to equalise and go ahead. I am concerned about our strikers."
Adrian had a great game against the home nation, Malaysia. Bringing some crucial saves at critical moments, India kept the score 2-0 until the last minute. That's when Malaysia got a penalty corner and scored. That's when the game was over and India had made it to the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah after 13 long years. It was a moment of joy for the team. No single hockey fan, gave the boys a chance to make it to the finals. And after, the losses in the first 2 games, the fans as well as the critics looked forward to a last place finish by the Indian team.
Against all odds, the Indian team was playing for Gold. They took the lead in the 11th minute, but conceded a goal in the 15th minute. Adrian kept his good form going, and bringing some wonderful saves to keep India in the contest. India missed 4 penalty corners. The game ended 1-1 in full time. In extra time, India conceded a unnecessary foul just outside the circle. Argentina took advantage of the free hit and scored in the third minute of extra time to seal victory and gold.
Adrian recently played for an Internation XI team against the Maratha Warriors. Playing as a forward, Adrian scored for the Internation XI. His team included players like Harinder Singh (ex-India coach), Arjun Hallapa, Edgar Jr (in Goal).
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
goalkeeper from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, who made is international debut for the Men's National Team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
in January 2004 during the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament
Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament
The Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia. It began in 1983 as a biennial contest. The tournament became an annual event after 1998, following its growth and popularity. The tournament is named after the ninth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of...
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Adrian has more than 100 International Caps for his country in all competitions. D'Souza represented his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Field hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Field Hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Hockey Centre located within the Helliniko Olympic Complex. The competitions for both men and women was split into two groups with the top two teams after the preliminary rounds progressing through to the semi-finals.-Men's...
, where India finished in seventh place. Regarded as one of the most innovative and daring goal-keepers of recent times, Adrian bought the rushing technique to the hockey field. Adrian was the captain of the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Junior Hockey team, which participated in the Rabobank
Rabobank
Rabobank is a financial services provider with offices worldwide. Their main location is in the Netherlands. They are a global leader in Food and Agri financing and in sustainability-oriented banking...
2005 Junior Hockey World Cup (Under 21s). His dream is to win an Olympic medal for the country.
Adrian has recently got the Olympic rings tattooed on his torso.
Background
Adrian was born in Malad a suburb in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has done his schooling from St Anne's High SchoolSt Anne's High School
St Anne's High School and Junior College is a school in Orlem, Malad, Mumbai, India, under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mumbai-History:St Anne's High School was established in the year 1916....
, Orlem, Malad. He was always active in sports and a very good football player.
Hockey, happened to Adrian as an accident, because the regular Goal-Keeper of the team did not report for a game. Adrian played as the keeper, had a broken tooth and promised never to play keeper again. But his coach was impressed and Adrian has since never looked back.
He got his first break in the Air-India Hockey Academy as a 16 year old. After 3 years Adrian was representing India at the Athens Olympics.
By the age of 23, Adrian was capped more than 100 times and played in all major field hockey tournaments, including the 2006 Hockey World Cup, 2006 Asian Games, 2007 Asia Cup and 2 Champions Trophies.
Adrian prefers to wear his lucky number 12 jersey while on the field. He also gets his helmets custom made by OBO. The designs are always made by him.
Premier Hockey League
The now defunct Premier Hockey League was a professional league competition for field Hockey clubs in the top division of the Indian hockey system. There were seven teams in the PHL. The competition was held every year from 2005 till 2008.-History:...
for the Maratha Warriors
Maratha Warriors
The Maratha Warriors are the Premier Hockey League team from Maharashtra, led by Captain Viren Rasquinha.-Players:The squad as of December 20th 2006 is as follows....
.
Hockey career highlights
Was then a part of the Junior India team that participated in the 6 Nation Junior Champions Challenge at Gniezno, Poland in 2003. Was awarded Best Goal-keeper.Represented Senior India at the 2004 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Was a part of the Junior India team that won the 2004 Junior Asia Cup in Karachi, Pakistan. Was awarded the Best Goal-Keeper.
Represented Senior India at a 4 Nation Tournament in Japan.
Represented Senior India at the 4 Nation Rabobank Trophy at Amstelveen, Netherlands.
Participated in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games for the Indian Hockey Team.
Was selected to represent India in the 4 match (bilateral) Test series between India and Pakistan in Sep-Oct 2004 to be held in Pakistan. Was awarded the Best Goal-Keeper for the Pakistan leg.
Was also awarded the Best Player of the Series for the entire 8 Match Test series between India and Pakistan played in Oct’2004.
Represented India in the prestigious 6 Nation Champions Trophy Challenge In Lahore, Pakistan in December 2004.
Was nominated for the prize of the World's Most Promising Young player Award for the year 2004 by the FIH.
Was a part of the Maratha Warriors team for the inaugural Premier Hockey League 2005.
Represented Junior India in the 6 Nation invitational tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2005.
Was awarded India’s “Player of the Year” for the year 2004 by the Indian Hockey year book.
Was the captain of the Junior Indian Hockey Team at the 2004 Rabo World Junior Hockey Championship held at Rotterdam, Netherlands. India finished 4th in the tournament.
Was awarded the HISA ( Hero Indian Sports Academy ) award for best Indian Hockey player of the year for 2004.
Participated in the inaugural Super League organized by the Pakistan Hockey Federation. Represented Baloch Lions and was awarded the 2nd Best Goal-Keeper award.
Participated in the Champions Trophy in December 2006 in Chennai, India.
Represented India in the 6 match bi-lateral series with Pakistan in February 2006 and the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne, Australia.
Represented India at the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah tournament in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. India won a bronze medal.
Represented India at the FIH World Cup 2006 in Monchengladbach, Germany.
Represented India at the Doha Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Qatar.
Selected to represent Maratha Warriors in the 2007 PHL.
Adrian was part of the squad that won Bronze medal at the 2007 Champions Challenge in Boom, Belgium.
Adrian was also part of the Gold Medal winning Indian hockey team at the 2007 Men's Asia Cup.
Adrian was then took part in his first stint in for an International Club. Adrian played for Koln club (Marienburger SC :de:Marienburger SC) in Germany.
Was selected to represent Maratha Warriors in PHL 2008.
Due to a hamstring injury Adrian had to pull out from the Olympic Qualifier camp. India, unfortunately could not beat Great Britain in the final and missed the Olympics for the first time in 80 years. Adrian, along with Mom and Dad watched the game in Mumbai. At the end of the game, Adrian was devastated. He could not believe it was happening. He never ever dreamt that India would not make it. But the loss, made his stronger and he now dreams to play 2012 and be the best in the business.
Adrian was back after a break of 2 months and was selected for the 2 legged 4 Nation tournament in Perth and Darwin. The tournament also included hosts Australia, China and Asian power-house South Korea. Adrian was back to doing what he does best. Impressing one and all, Adrian was the number 1 again. Even though India did not have a successful trip down under, Adrian was feeling good about his form.
The 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah, was all Adrian. It ranks as one of his top 2 performances for India. The other being the 2005 India-Pakistan series. The Sohail Abbas-Adrian Dsouza confrontation was unforgettable then.
Adrian was spectacular and was the most important factor in India making it to the final. His performance against Pakistan was a classic piece of how goal-keeping under pressure is to be performed. Adrian foiled attack after attack. The Pakistan team needed only a draw to make it through to the finals. They were 1-2 trailing and had 10 minutes to score that one goal that would put them into the finals. But between Pakistan's route to the final and India's loss stood 1 strong wall. Adrian, made at least 5 sure goal scoring saves. The most crucial coming when 45 seconds were left. But, unlike previous occasions where India usually concede a goal in the dying seconds to leave the fans heart-broken, this was different. No disappointments today. Adrian took India to the brink of the final. India needed only a win against the host team. Malaysia lay at the bottom of the table and the final was almost a certainty.
Adrian's performance was lauded by one and all. As a matter of fact even the Pakistan coach admitted it was Adrian who made the difference. Some quotes by Naved Alam after the match.
"He gave you the victory."
"We have lost because of goalkeeping. We lost because our strikers are not doing their job. We had many chances to equalise and go ahead. I am concerned about our strikers."
Adrian had a great game against the home nation, Malaysia. Bringing some crucial saves at critical moments, India kept the score 2-0 until the last minute. That's when Malaysia got a penalty corner and scored. That's when the game was over and India had made it to the final of the Sultan Azlan Shah after 13 long years. It was a moment of joy for the team. No single hockey fan, gave the boys a chance to make it to the finals. And after, the losses in the first 2 games, the fans as well as the critics looked forward to a last place finish by the Indian team.
Against all odds, the Indian team was playing for Gold. They took the lead in the 11th minute, but conceded a goal in the 15th minute. Adrian kept his good form going, and bringing some wonderful saves to keep India in the contest. India missed 4 penalty corners. The game ended 1-1 in full time. In extra time, India conceded a unnecessary foul just outside the circle. Argentina took advantage of the free hit and scored in the third minute of extra time to seal victory and gold.
Adrian recently played for an Internation XI team against the Maratha Warriors. Playing as a forward, Adrian scored for the Internation XI. His team included players like Harinder Singh (ex-India coach), Arjun Hallapa, Edgar Jr (in Goal).