P. M. Radhakrishnan
Encyclopedia
P. M. Radhakrishnan was an India
n football
player, coach, referee and administrator. As a player he participated in many tournaments, including representing Tamilnadu in the Senior National Championship for the Santhosh Trophy, in 1973.
After a knee injury ended his playing career, he completed the National Institute of Sports
(NIS) Diploma in 1977 and then the FIFA
Coaching ‘A’ License 1987 in Germany, and went on to coach many teams, including the Reserve Bank of India
team in the Chennai Football Association Senior Division, which he led for over 10 years.
to parents Chokkanathan Krishnan and Kuttiammad. His maternal uncle introduced him to football, taking Radhakrishnan and his younger brother to the local football matches. Radhakrishnan married Kumari, a native of Kerala
on 9 December 1972. They had 2 boys.
Radhakrishnan went to St. Gabriels School as a youngster, dabbling in quite a few sporting activities. Apart from his mainstream athletics and footballing exploits, he was also an amateur exponent in pool
, table tennis
and carrom
. He was also an amateur dramatist who dabbled in local theatre adaptations of Shakespearan plays.
Radhakrishnan was an excellent student in St. Gabriels, GeorgeTown, with several distinction and First Class achievements including his PUC (Pre University Course). He then enrolled in Thyagaraya college and graduated with honours in B.Sc. Zoology
. He followed this with a Post Graduation in Philosophy
(M.A.) at Pachaiyappa's College
.
in 1976, and had to undergo corrective surgery on his knee. This cut short his playing career. He turned to coaching after a 10-month Football Coaching Course at NIS
(National Institute of Sports). He continued to upgrade his skills, the foremost of which was the 'A' Coaching License awarded by the German Football Association in 1987. He was one of the 2 Indian Coaches recommended by AIFF
(All India Football Federation) to represent India in this prestigious 1 month evaluative training and certification. He was awarded the 'A' License Certification, which certified him to coach international teams. The course was presided over by Franz Beckenbauer
(Germany World Cup Winner as Player-1974 and Coach-1990) and Holger Osieck
(German National Team - Technical Director under Beckenbauer).
Radhakrishnan coached several individuals who became outstanding football players:
Regular coaching sessions were held on the weekends at the RKM School grounds. It later shifted to Quaid-E-Millet Women's College and eventually found its home in the YMCA
College grounds.
Gradually, city schools and colleges began to send their promising women athletes over to the football training grounds. This was quite an achievement since there was no formal footballing organization or a clear roadmap for women footballers at that stage. Radhakrishnan had a unique way of applying the same standards to all the girls and extracted a solid team performance and team spirit within all his teams. He continued to conduct regular coaching camps for women under the aegis of several clubs that he managed and under the Chennai Football Association banner.
An Inter Football-Academy Tournament - P M Radhakrishnan Memorial Trophy
and the 1st P M Radhakrishnan Memorial Inter-School football tournament were conducted in May 2010 and July 2010 respectively.
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...
n football
Football in India
Association football is one of India's most popular sports, next to cricket. It is a very popular sport in states like West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and the entire North-East India, especially Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim....
player, coach, referee and administrator. As a player he participated in many tournaments, including representing Tamilnadu in the Senior National Championship for the Santhosh Trophy, in 1973.
After a knee injury ended his playing career, he completed the National Institute of Sports
National Institute of Sports
Founded in 1961, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports or NIS, is Asia's largest Sports Institute located in princely city of Patiala...
(NIS) Diploma in 1977 and then the FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
Coaching ‘A’ License 1987 in Germany, and went on to coach many teams, including the Reserve Bank of India
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of...
team in the Chennai Football Association Senior Division, which he led for over 10 years.
Biography
Paraikattae Melaveedu Radhakrishnan was born on 6 September 1946 in ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
to parents Chokkanathan Krishnan and Kuttiammad. His maternal uncle introduced him to football, taking Radhakrishnan and his younger brother to the local football matches. Radhakrishnan married Kumari, a native of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
on 9 December 1972. They had 2 boys.
Radhakrishnan went to St. Gabriels School as a youngster, dabbling in quite a few sporting activities. Apart from his mainstream athletics and footballing exploits, he was also an amateur exponent in pool
Pool
-Pools of water:*Swimming pool, an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming*Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings:...
, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and carrom
Carrom
Carrom is a family of tabletop games with gameplay that lies somewhere between billiards and table shuffleboard. Carrom is known by many names around the world, including carrum, couronne, carum, karam, karom, karum, fatta and finger billiards...
. He was also an amateur dramatist who dabbled in local theatre adaptations of Shakespearan plays.
Radhakrishnan was an excellent student in St. Gabriels, GeorgeTown, with several distinction and First Class achievements including his PUC (Pre University Course). He then enrolled in Thyagaraya college and graduated with honours in B.Sc. Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
. He followed this with a Post Graduation in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(M.A.) at Pachaiyappa's College
Pachaiyappa's College
Pachaiyappa's College is one of the oldest educational institutions in Chennai, in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The college was established as Pachaiyappa's Central Institution at Popham's Broadway on January 1, 1842, from money given in Pachaiyappa Mudaliar's will. It was the first Hindu...
.
Football Player (1964-1976)
- Represented Tamilnadu in the Junior National Championship
- Represented Madras University in the All IndiaAll India Football FederationThe All India Football Federation is the organisation which manages the game of association football in India. It administers the running of the India national football team and also controls the I-League, India's premier domestic club competition, in addition to various other competitions and...
Inter-University Tournament - Represented Tamilnadu in the Senior National Championship 1973 losing to Bengal 4-1 (Santhosh Trophy)
- Represented Tamilnadu in the Southern Pentagular Football Championship held at ColomboColomboColombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and QuilonQuilonQuilon may refer to,* Venad, a former state on Malabar Coast, India* Kollam , Kerala state, India* Kollam district, Kerala state... - Represented and Captained Tamilnadu Team in the Nizam Gold Cup Tournament held at Hyderabad
- Played for Reserve Bank of India team in Chennai for more than 10 years and captained the team in many All India Tournaments
Football Coaching and Refereeing qualifications
- National Institute of SportsNational Institute of SportsFounded in 1961, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports or NIS, is Asia's largest Sports Institute located in princely city of Patiala...
(NIS) Diploma in Football 1977 - 1978 - FIFA 'A' Licence in Football Coaching from West Germany 1987 - 1988
- National Grade ‘A’ Referee
- Completed 'FIFA' refresher courses (for coaches) at Bangalore and Kolkata
- Completed 'FIFA' refresher course for Referees at Chennai
- Obtained 'Sports Medicine' Certificate conducted by Sports Development Authority of Tamilnadu
Sports Injury and Coaching Career
Radhakrishnan injured his right knee cartilageCartilage
Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in many areas in the bodies of humans and other animals, including the joints between bones, the rib cage, the ear, the nose, the elbow, the knee, the ankle, the bronchial tubes and the intervertebral discs...
in 1976, and had to undergo corrective surgery on his knee. This cut short his playing career. He turned to coaching after a 10-month Football Coaching Course at NIS
National Institute of Sports
Founded in 1961, Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports or NIS, is Asia's largest Sports Institute located in princely city of Patiala...
(National Institute of Sports). He continued to upgrade his skills, the foremost of which was the 'A' Coaching License awarded by the German Football Association in 1987. He was one of the 2 Indian Coaches recommended by AIFF
All India Football Federation
The All India Football Federation is the organisation which manages the game of association football in India. It administers the running of the India national football team and also controls the I-League, India's premier domestic club competition, in addition to various other competitions and...
(All India Football Federation) to represent India in this prestigious 1 month evaluative training and certification. He was awarded the 'A' License Certification, which certified him to coach international teams. The course was presided over by Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...
(Germany World Cup Winner as Player-1974 and Coach-1990) and Holger Osieck
Holger Osieck
Holger Osieck is a German football coach and current coach of the Australian national association football team. Prior to the Australian role, he most recently managed J.League club Urawa Red Diamonds, where he won the 2007 AFC Champions League. He served as an assistant coach of West Germany...
(German National Team - Technical Director under Beckenbauer).
Football Coach (1976-2010)
- Reserve Bank of IndiaReserve Bank of IndiaThe Reserve Bank of India is the central banking institution of India and controls the monetary policy of the rupee as well as US$300.21 billion of currency reserves. The institution was established on 1 April 1935 during the British Raj in accordance with the provisions of the Reserve Bank of...
(CFA Senior Division Team) team coach for more than 10 years (which won twice Championship title, thrice runner-up and winner of many All India Tournaments) - Coach of Tamilnadu Sub Junior team for the National Championship
- Coach of Tamilnadu Junior Team for the National Championship
- Coach of Tamilnadu Senior Team for the National Championship
- Coach of Tamilnadu U-21 (Youth) Team for the National Championship
- Coach of Madras University Football Team.
- Coach of Tamilnadu Senior Women's Team in the National Championship
- All India RBI Football Team Coach in 1982, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000.
- Trained strong Institutional Football Teams in the Senior Division and 1st Division CFA/TFA Leagues. Some of them were TNEBTamil Nadu Electricity BoardThe Tamil Nadu Electricity Board TNEB is a statutory body formed on 01.07.1957 under the Electricity Supply Act, 1948 as a successor to the erstwhile Electricity Department of the Government of Madras. India, that generates, distributes and regulates the electricity supply in the state...
(Tamil Nadu Electricity Board), NLCNeyveli Lignite CorporationNeyveli Lignite Corporation Limited is a government-owned lignite mining and power generating company in India. NLC operates the largest open-pit lignite mines in India, presently mining 24 MT of lignite and has an installed capacity of 2490 MW of electricity per year. It also supplies a large...
(Neyveli Lignite Corporation), FCIFood Corporation of IndiaFood Corporation of India was setup on 14th January 1965 having its first District Office at Thanjavur - rice bowl of Tamil Nadu - and headquarters at Chennai under the Food Corporations Act 1964 to implement the following objectives of the National Food Policy :# Effective price support...
(Food Corporation of India), HPF (Hindustan Photo Films), MDLB (Madras Dock Labour Board), Don Bosco Youth Centres (Basin Bridge, Broadway, Siga, Wisdom Town), Income Tax, Tamil Nadu Special Police, Madras City Police, etc. - Coach of Anna UniversityAnna UniversityAnna University was a premier technical university in Tamil Nadu, India. Anna University was formed on September 4, 1978, as a unitary university that integrated four technical institutions in the city of Chennai , including the College of Engineering, Guindy, Alagappa College of Technology,...
football team, latest stint in 1996. Coached them in the 1996 South Zone Inter-University tournament at SecunderabadSecunderabadSecunderabad popularly known as the twin city of Hyderabad is located in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh north of Hyderabad. Named after Sikandar Jah, the third Nizam of the Asaf Jahi dynasty, Secunderabad was founded in 1806 AD as a British cantonment...
, Andhra Pradesh. - Trained many private clubs in the Chennai Football Association League like Dynamos FC, MUC(Madras United Club), Madras Sporting Youngsters, T Nagar FC,. He single-handedly guided the golden era of Dynamos FC, anchoring its rapid rise from CFA 5th Division to Senior Division, with a promotion every single year in the CFA League.
- One of the Founder Members and Coach of the Tamil Nadu Women's Football Team since its inception in the 1980s.
- Coach of AG's Office Tamil Nadu team in the National 'B' League at Trivandrum in 2003.
- Coach of SDAT - Don Bosco Sports Hostel and Talent Development Centre at Wisdom Town, Red Hills.
- He was the incumbent Coach of Perambur Blues Football Club, which is in the First Division league of Chennai Football Association.
Radhakrishnan coached several individuals who became outstanding football players:
- Syed Sabir PashaSyed Sabir PashaPasha is an international football PLAYER FROM Tamil Nadu, India.* Represented India * Represented Tamil Nadu state * Represented Indian bank * Coach - India Youth teams...
- Amalraj
- Janaki Kowtha
- Monica Sathyanesan
Football Administrator
During his lengthy tenure (1969–2003) in Reserve Bank of India, Radhakrishnan was actively involved as a office bearer in several aspects of the RBRC(Reserve Bank Recreation Club), primary of which was running and administering Sports teams of RBI during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. This included National Level tournaments apart from the Annual Inter-RBI Sporting events and the Annual Inter-Bank Sports events conducted by Indian Banks Association. This later involved closely working with the Trade Unions and Officers/Clerks Associations to promote and safeguard employee interests and sports / recreational activities.- Former Office Bearer of Chennai Football Referees Association
- Vice President of Chennai Football Coaches Association
- Former Hon. Asst. Secretary and Present Hon. Treasurer of Chennai Football Association
- Convenor, Women's Wing, Chennai Football Association
- Hon. Secretary, T'Nagar Football Club
Womens Football
In the mid -1980s, a core group founded the Women's Football movement in Tamil Nadu. It started off with Ramakrishnan as the primary coach at the Ramakrishna School grounds at T Nagar, with the encouragement of the school's principal and the local SDAT Coach and a few others from the mainstream men’s football.Regular coaching sessions were held on the weekends at the RKM School grounds. It later shifted to Quaid-E-Millet Women's College and eventually found its home in the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
College grounds.
Gradually, city schools and colleges began to send their promising women athletes over to the football training grounds. This was quite an achievement since there was no formal footballing organization or a clear roadmap for women footballers at that stage. Radhakrishnan had a unique way of applying the same standards to all the girls and extracted a solid team performance and team spirit within all his teams. He continued to conduct regular coaching camps for women under the aegis of several clubs that he managed and under the Chennai Football Association banner.
In Memory
P M Radhakrishnan died unexpectedly on 18 March 2010 due to a massive cardiac arrest. A condolence meeting was organized by the Chennai Football Association in early April 2010.An Inter Football-Academy Tournament - P M Radhakrishnan Memorial Trophy
and the 1st P M Radhakrishnan Memorial Inter-School football tournament were conducted in May 2010 and July 2010 respectively.