CaseyBroderick at 02:48, 13 April 2026

2026-04-13T02:48:13Z

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{{Short description|Indian women's field hockey player (1940–2022)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox field hockey player
| name = Elvera Britto
| image = Photo of Elvera Britto.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1940|06|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Bangalore]], [[Kingdom of Mysore]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|04|26|1940|06|15|df=y}}
| death_place = Bangalore, [[Karnataka]], India
| position =
| years1 =
| clubs1 = Mysore
| nationalyears1 = –1967
| nationalteam1 = [[India women's national field hockey team|India]]
| nationalcaps1 =
| nationalgoals1 =
}}

'''Elvera Britto''' (15 June 1940{{Spaced en dash}}26 April 2022) was an Indian [[field hockey]] player who captained the [[India women's national field hockey team|Indian women's hockey team]] and the [[Mysore State|Mysore state]]'s team. She captained the Mysore team for eight consecutive national titles between 1960 and 1967. Britto received the [[Arjuna Award]], India's second highest sporting honor, in 1965.

Britto also served as a president of the Karnataka State Women's Hockey Association and a selector for the national women's team.

== Early life ==
Britto was born on 15 June 1940 into an [[Anglo-Indian people|Anglo-Indian family]] in [[Cooke Town]], a suburb in the Indian city of [[Bangalore]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Kiran |first=Sidney |date=26 April 2022 |title=Elvera Britto, trend-setting champion of women's hockey |language=en |work=[[Deccan Herald]] |url=https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/other-sports/elvera-britto-trend-setting-champion-of-womens-hockey-1104085.html |url-status=live |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430174928/https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/other-sports/elvera-britto-trend-setting-champion-of-womens-hockey-1104085.html |archive-date=30 April 2022}}</ref> She was the eldest of four sisters, three of whom would go on to represent the country as a member of the national women's hockey team. In her younger days, Britto participated in multiple sports, including cricket, swimming, and football.<ref name=":3" /> She studied at the St. Francis Xavier Girls High School in Bangalore.<ref name=":4" />

== Career ==
Britto started playing hockey when she was 13 and went on to become captain of the [[Mysore State]] women's hockey team.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Elvera Britto, former Indian women's hockey team captain, dies at 81 |url=https://olympics.com/en/news/elvera-britto-indian-women-hockey-player-dies |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430174934/https://olympics.com/en/news/elvera-britto-indian-women-hockey-player-dies |archive-date=30 April 2022 |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=Olympics.com}}</ref> As captain between 1960 and 1967, she led the team to win national titles for eight consecutive years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Achal |first=Ashwin |title=Former India women's hockey team captain Elvera Britto passes away |url=https://sportstar.thehindu.com/hockey/elvera-britto-passes-away-former-india-womens-hockey-team-captain/article38480372.ece |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=Sportstar |date=26 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426124218/https://sportstar.thehindu.com/hockey/elvera-britto-passes-away-former-india-womens-hockey-team-captain/article38480372.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> Along with her sisters, Rita and Mae, the Britto sisters were considered a 'formidable trio' in the Indian national and Mysore state teams.<ref name=":0" /> She represented India in games against Australia, Japan, and Sri Lanka.<ref name=":2" />

She became the second women's hockey player to receive India's [[Arjuna Award]] when she won it in 1965.{{Efn|Indian newspapers ''[[Deccan Herald]]'' and ''[[The Times of India]]'' indicate that Britto won the [[Arjuna Award]] in 1966, however, Britto won the award in 1965.<ref>{{Cite news |title=LIST OF ARJUNA AWARDEES (1961 to 2018) |work=Government of India |url=https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/LIST%20OF%20ARJUNA%20AWARDEES.docx%2061%20-%2017_0_0.pdf |access-date=30 April 2022 |archive-date=18 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718084523/https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/LIST%20OF%20ARJUNA%20AWARDEES.docx%2061%20-%2017_0_0.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>}}<ref name=":0" /> Earlier, [[Anne Lumsden]] had won the award in its inaugural year in 1961.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |agency=PTI |date=26 April 2022 |title=Former women's hockey team captain Elvera Britto dies aged 81 |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/former-womens-hockey-team-captain-elvera-britto-dies-aged-81/article65358378.ece |access-date=30 April 2022 |issn=0971-751X |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426230540/https://www.thehindu.com/sport/hockey/former-womens-hockey-team-captain-elvera-britto-dies-aged-81/article65358378.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Britto's retirement from playing in the 1970s, she remained associated with the game as an administrator, serving as the president of the Karnataka State Women's Hockey Association for two terms over eight years.<ref name=":1" /> Britto's mother Latetia was one of the founding members of the association.<ref name=":4" /> Britto also served as a selector and the manager of the national hockey team, for over twelve years.<ref name=":1" /> Referring to the hardships of playing in the 1960s as an Indian women's hockey player, Britto's sister Rae would recollect that the Brittos would travel by third-class trains, cook their own food, and even stitch their own uniforms before a tournament.<ref name=":3" /> As an administrator, her focus was said to have been the revival of hockey interest in inter-school competitions arriving at the grounds before even the players, turning up in her [[moped]].<ref name=":4" />

== Personal life ==
Britto died on 26 April 2022 in [[Bangalore]] from a [[heart attack]].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |first1=Manuja |last1=Veerappa |date= 27 April 2022 |title=Elvera Britto, doyenne of women's hockey, no more |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/elvera-britto-doyenne-of-womens-hockey-no-more/articleshow/91117612.cms |access-date=30 April 2022 |newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |language=en |archive-date=30 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430174929/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/elvera-britto-doyenne-of-womens-hockey-no-more/articleshow/91117612.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> She was aged 81.<ref name=":0" /> She remained unmarried during her lifetime.<ref name=":1" />

== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Britto, Elvera}}
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Field hockey players from Bengaluru]]
[[Category:Indian women's field hockey players]]
[[Category:Sportswomen from Karnataka]]
[[Category:Anglo-Indian people]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award]]
[[Category:Deaths from coronary artery disease]]

Elvera Britto - Revision history

CaseyBroderick at 02:48, 13 April 2026