Former Indian hockey player Sandeep Michael, who captained the Indian junior team to an Asia Cup gold in 2003, died Friday after battling an unspecified neurological problem here.
The former forward was 33.
“Sandeep passed away this afternoon in a private hospital. He was battling a brain problem and was admitted on November 18. He slipped into a coma and could not be revived,” Karnataka State Hockey Association Secretary K Krishna Murthy told.
Michael’s funeral will be held on Saturday at the Singapura church cemetery, Murthy said.
The high point of Michael’s India career was the 2003 junior Asia Cup in which he was adjudged the most promising player. He scored in crunch games against teams like Pakistan and Korea.
In 2001, he made his debut for the country as a junior in the Under-18 Asia Cup at Ipoh in Malaysia under Jugraj Singh.
He was also part of the Indian development teams that won gold and bronze medals respectively in the Akbar-el-Yom Cup competition in 2002 and 2003, Murthy added.
