Leo Pinto Biography 
Leo Pinto was a field hockey goalkeeper from India. He was a team member of the national team at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. He is best remembered as the goalkeeper of Indian hockey team in 1948, which gave the first Olympics gold medal to free India. Till then Indian team played as British India. Akshay Kumar starrer 2018 Bollywood film, Gold is based on the true events related to free India’s historic first gold medal win at Olympics in hockey event through based on a fictional script. One of the greatest goalkeepers in hockey, he is a true inspiration to younger generations. During his peak time of 1940s and 1950s, he was one of the top goalkeepers in the world.
Leo Pinto was born on 11 April 1914 in Nairobi, East Africa, now in Kenya. His full name is Leo Hillary Knowles Pinto. He is of Portuguese descent, with their roots in Goa. His family moved to Mumbai when he was eight. Later her education was completed from Mumbai itself. He was married to Jenny Pinto. Since childhood he was interested in sports and he played hockey, football and cricket during younger days. Later he completely switched over to hockey, which proved to be a right decision.
Since age 13, he played hockey and he took up the role of a goalkeeper. He turned a professional player with Aga Khan Tournament with the Byculla Rovers club. While studying at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he has represented his college in many tournaments. Owen Ferreira, Willie Fernandes and Owen Pinto were other players in inter-collegiate tournaments who later joined him in national team. 1936 Olympics in Berlin made his debut in Olympics.
Published: February 03, 2019
Updated: February 03, 2019
