Peter Paul Fernandes

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full namePeter Paul•Fernandes
Used namePeter Paul•Fernandes
Nick/petnamesPP
Born15 September 1916 in Karachi, Sindh (PAK)
Died24 January 1981 in Karachi, Sindh (PAK)
AffiliationsKarachi Goan Association, Karachi (PAK)
NOC India
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

Peter Paul Fernandes, or PP as he was also known, was a descendent of families from the Portuguese governed colony of Goa in Western India who had emigrated North to the booming city of Karachi in the 19th century and would make up a sizable part of the minority Christian population in the area. He began playing hockey with the St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Karachi in a team that won many of India’s various tournaments in the 1930s resulting in him being chosen to play for the national team on a tour to New Zealand and Australia in 1935 whilst still a teenager. He retained his place as a left sided forward for the 1936 Olympic Games and, although in the shadow of his free scoring teammates Dhyan Chand and Roop Singh, he played in two of the group stage matches contributing two goals to the 9-0 win over Japan. Fernandes played club hockey for Karachi Goan Association and for Sind Province and made sporadic appearances for the Sind cricket team in India’s Ranji Trophy and, following the partition of India, Pakistan domestic cricket. Twelve years after his Olympic appearance he was considered for a place in newly independent Pakistan’s team for the 1948 Games in London but was eventually overlooked in favour of younger players. He died at the age of 64 in early 1981.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1936 Summer Olympics Hockey IND Peter Paul Fernandes
Hockey, Men (Olympic) British India 1 Gold

Special Notes