Maneyapanda Muthanna Somaya made his international debut in an Olympic tournament and finished it with a gold medal. That was Moscow in 1980. He went on to play at two more Olympics, captained India at Seoul in 1988 and won Asian Games medals in 1982 and 1986. He is one of the best-known players to come out of Coorg, the district in Karnataka where hockey is part of everyday life.
Name: Maneyapanda Muthanna Somaya
Born: 8 May 1959, Madikeri, Karnataka
Sport: Hockey
Position: Half-back
Coorg and Bombay
Somaya was born in Madikeri on 8 May 1959 into a Kodava family. In Coorg most families play hockey at some level, and the clan tournaments there now draw hundreds of teams each year. He grew up in Bombay, where he captained the city side that won the Junior National Championship in 1976. That title set him on the road to a hockey career. He later spent nine years with Mahindra and Mahindra, one of the strongest club sides in Bombay, winning the Bombay League and playing in tournaments such as the Bombay Gold Cup, the Aga Khan Cup and the Nehru Memorial.
Moscow 1980
Somaya’s first international tournament was the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Several leading hockey nations stayed away because of the boycott led by the United States, but India still had to win the final against Spain, and did so 4-3 under the captaincy of Vasudevan Baskaran. It was India’s first Olympic hockey gold in 16 years. Somaya has described standing on the podium in Moscow as the most memorable moment of his career, and he credits coach Balkishan Singh and Baskaran for guiding him through it.
Half-back and captain
He played as a half-back, the link between defence and attack, and his job was to win the ball and move it on quickly. He won silver at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi and bronze at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, and played at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
He captained India at the Silver Jubilee 10-Nation Cup in Hong Kong in 1983 and at the 1985 Asia Cup in Dhaka. In 1986 India finished last at the World Cup in London, and morale was low when Somaya was named captain for the 1988 Seoul Olympics. India finished sixth. He has called leading the side in Seoul a childhood dream, even in hard circumstances.
After hockey
Somaya built a long corporate career with Bharat Petroleum after his playing days and settled in Mumbai. The Petroleum Sports Promotion Board gave him a lifetime achievement award in 2007. He has stayed involved in Indian hockey and spoke at events marking 100 years of organised hockey in India in 2025. He is an Arjuna Award recipient.
Career record and honours
- Olympic gold medal: Moscow 1980
- Olympic appearances: Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988 (captain)
- Asian Games silver medal: Delhi 1982
- Asian Games bronze medal: Seoul 1986
- India captain at the 1983 Silver Jubilee 10-Nation Cup and 1985 Asia Cup
- Arjuna Award
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (2007)
