->Lancepark at 23:12, 23 December 2021

2021-12-23T23:12:18Z

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{{short description|Indian field hockey player}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox field hockey player
|name=Leo Pinto
|image=Leo Pinto.jpg
|fullname=Leo Hillary Knowles Pinto
|birth_date={{birth date|1914|04|11|df=yes}}
|birth_place=[[Nairobi]], East Africa
|death_date={{Death date and age|2010|08|10|1914|04|11|df=yes}}
|death_place=[[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], India
|height=
|position=[[Goalkeeper (field hockey)|Goalkeeper]]
|youthclubs1=
|youthyears1=
|clubs1=Byculla Rovers
|years1=
|caps(goals)1=
|clubs2=Lusitanians
|years2=
|caps(goals)2=
|clubs3=Tata Sports Club
|years3=
|caps(goals)3=
|clubs4=
|years4
|caps(goals)4=
|nationalteam1=[[India men's national field hockey team|India]]
|nationalyears1=
|nationalcaps(goals)1=
|updated=
|medaltemplates-expand=yes
|medaltemplates={{MedalSport|Men's [[Field hockey]]}}
{{MedalCountry|{{flagu|India}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Field hockey at the Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 London]]|[[Field hockey at the 1948 Summer Olympics|Team]]}}
}}

'''Leo Pinto''' (11 April 1914 – 10 August 2010) was a [[field hockey]] goalkeeper from India, who won the gold medal with the [[India men's national field hockey team|Indian national team]] at the [[1948 Summer Olympics]] in London. During the peak of his playing days, he was rated among the best goalkeepers in the world.<ref name="sr">{{cite web |title= Leo Pinto biography |url= https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pi/leo-pinto-1.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200418090426/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/pi/leo-pinto-1.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 18 April 2020 |website= sports-reference.com |accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref>

==Early life==
Pinto was born as Leo Hillary Knowles Pinto on 11 April 1914, in [[Nairobi]], East Africa (now in [[Kenya]]). His wife's name was Jenny Pinto. He was born to a family of [[Portuguese people|Portuguese descent]], with their roots in [[Goa]], India. Pinto's family moved to [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai) when he was eight. He attended the St. Stanisalus school in Bombay and graduated in 1932, before joining the Antonio D'Souza High School in [[Byculla]], Bombay.<ref>{{cite web |title= Leo Pinto profile |url= http://stanislites.org/alumni/content/leo-pinto |website= stanislites.org |accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref> He played hockey, [[association football|football]] and [[cricket]] as a kid. He, however took up hockey seriously at the age of 13, and as a goalkeeper.<ref name="zn">{{cite web |title= Nonagenarian Olympian goalkeeper Leo Pinto passes away |url= http://zeenews.india.com/home/nonagenarian-olympian-goalkeeper-leo-pinto-passes-away_647391.html |publisher= Zee News |date= 10 August 2010 |accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref>

==Career==
Pinto, as a professional played his first matches in the Aga Khan Tournament with the Byculla Rovers club, at a young age. As a student of the St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, he represented the college in inter-collegiate tournaments along with his future colleagues in Indian senior national team, Owen Ferreira, Willie Fernandes and Owen Pinto. At the club level, he also played for Lusitanians Hockey Club and the Tata Sports Club. For the latter club, he played for 27 years in a row and his career in club hockey lasted for 35 years.<ref name="sr" />

Playing for the Indian senior team, Pinto was to make his debut in [[Olympic Games]], at the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Olympics]] in Berlin. But, a serious concussion sustained at one of the final trial matches ruled him out of the Games. However, he made his debut at the [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 Olympics]] in London, with the team winning the gold medal. He played in three of India's five matches at the Games and conceded just one goal. In the final against [[Great Britain men's national field hockey team|Great Britain]], he scored India's last and final goal in a penalty, thus having the distinction of one of the very few goalkeepers to score a goal.<ref>{{cite news |author= Valentine, Alex |title= Indian wins fourth Olympic hockey championship |url= https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=s9I-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=k0wMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4048%2C4179948 |newspaper= The Indian Express |date= 12 August 1948 |accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title= Leo Pinto, India's oldest Olympian, passes away |url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/hockey/top-stories/Leo-Pinto-Indias-oldest-Olympian-passes-away/articleshow/6288763.cms |newspaper= The Times of India |date= 10 August 2010 |accessdate= 9 October 2014}}</ref>

==Later years and death==
Following his career in hockey, Pinto became a coach and a member of the national selection committee of the Indian team that won the bronze medal at the [[1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Olympics]] in [[Munich]]. He was also associated with the Bombay Hockey Association in the 1970s. He died in his residence in [[Mumbai]] on 10 August 2010.<ref name="zn" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}
* [http://www.bharatiyahockey.org/2006/feb2006.html Bharatiya Hockey]

{{Olympic medalists for India}}
{{India FH Squad 1948 Summer Olympics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Leo}}
[[Category:1914 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:Field hockey players at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Indian male field hockey players]]
[[Category:Field hockey players from Goa]]
[[Category:Indian field hockey coaches]]
[[Category:Indian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Olympic field hockey players of India]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for India]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in field hockey]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Nairobi]]
[[Category:Kenyan people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Kenyan people of Goan descent]]

Leo Pinto - Revision history

->Lancepark at 23:12, 23 December 2021