LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Dec 3: Jharkhand’s veteran hockey player Justin Kerketta, who represented India in the 1978 world cup, passed away on Saturday after suffering a heart attack. He was from Simdega.
Former Chief Minister Arjun Munda took to Twitter and tweeted about the veteran’s demise.
पूर्व अंतरराष्ट्रीय हॉकी खिलाड़ी जस्टिन केरकेट्टा जी के निधन का दुःखद समाचार मिला।सिमडेगा जिला के कोलेबिरा प्रखंड अंतर्गत अघरमा के रहने वाले जस्टिन जी ने 1978 विश्व कप सहित कई अंतर्राष्ट्रीय प्रतियगिताओ में भारतीय टीम का प्रतिनिधित्व किया था।मेरी विनम्र श्रद्धांजलि। pic.twitter.com/6zdZrXC8dN
— Arjun Munda (@MundaArjun) December 3, 2022
Notably, Kerketta served in the Indian Army in the Bihar Regiment. After retiring, he also coached hockey players in Mecon from 1982 to 1998. He started living i the Kolebira block headquarters by building a house and participating in any big or small hockey competitions. He used to actively participate in the hockey competition held every year at Barwadih School in Kolebira.
Moreover, many sports associations including Hockey Jharkhand, and Hockey Simdega have paid tributes. Hockey Jharkhand President Bhola Nath Singh said that it is a great loss for Hockey Jharkhand. He said that whenever he used to go to Simdega, he used to stop at Kolebira and meet him. He added that he received guidance from him many times.
Expressing his condolence, the president of Hockey Simdega Manoj Konbegi said that they have lost a guardian of hockey.
“Whenever we used to invite him to any event, he used to give us time and said that he is very happy with our work and motivated us to keep working like this,” he said.
