Karunakarakurup Udayakumar was an India men's national volleyball team player known for his allround skills at offence and defence and a member of the Indian volleyball team during what many consider as the golden era of Indian volleyball. A former captain of the Indian national volleyball team, Udayakumar was a member of the team, which included Jimmy George and Cyril C. Valloor, that won the Bronze medal in the 1986 Asian Games held in Seoul. Udayakumar played for the Kerala police Volleyball team. The Government of India, in 1991, honoured his services to Indian volleyball by bestowing on him, the second highest Indian sports award, the Arjuna Award.
Biography
Udayakumar was born in 1960, at the coastal hamlet of Mararikulam, known for the famous Marari beach, in Alappuzha district of the south Indian state of Kerala, to Parambil Vettil Karanakarakurup and Ammani Amma. He started playing volleyball from an early age, beginning his career at MAC MARARIKULAM, a Local Volleyball Club where his talents were first noticed by the public. MAC MARARIKULAM is presently known as K.UDAYAKUMAR Floodlight Stadium.
Career
After the schooling at Kanichukulangara High School, Udayakumar joined St.Mitchel's College where his talents were first noticed by the public College, Cherthalla and was soon inducted to the college team. His performances there helped him to gain a berth in the State junior volleyball team which participated in the National Rural Games at Kolhapure, in 1976 and again, in 1978, at the Patiala junior nationals. He was soon made the captain of the Kerala junior team which was followed by an entry into the Indian national junior volleyball team which participated in the 1980 Asian Junior Volleyball Championships. The next year, in 1981, he was selected for the Indian Youth team for the World Youth Volleyball championships at Colorado Springs, USA. He earned a national senior team berth in 1982, when India hosted the Asian Games at New Delhi. However, the finest hour of his career came, in 1986, when the Indian volleyball team, composed of Udayakumar, Jimmy George, Cyril C. Valloor, Abdul Razak, Sandeep Singh and Abdul Basith, won the bronze medal at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul, Korea. Three years later, he captained the Indian team to silver medal at the 1989 SAF Games. Udayakumar represented India in the Asian Senior volleyball championships at Tokyo in 1983 and at Kuwait in 1987 and played for India in three SAF Games. Udayakumar was active in club level professional volleyball, too. Opening with Kerala State Electricity Board team, he played for Travancore Titanium, before joining Kerala Police team, in 1985, where he ended his club career. In between, he also played for a professional team in Qatar for a while. After retirement as a player, he coached Dubai Police team and was also active at the organizational level. He was a member of the organising committee for the 2013 National Games held at Thiruvananthapuram in November - December 2013. Udayakumar's job career also followed his club commitments. Starting at Kerala State Electricity Board and a short stint at Travancore Titanium, he joined Kerala Police as a Deputy Superintendent of Police and rose in ranks to become the Aide de Camp to the Governor of Kerala. On 19 September 2014, Udayakumar suffered a massive cardiac arrest, while on duty as the aide de camp, and was declared dead, later, at the hospital. He was married to Lekha, a teacher at the Christ Nagar School, and the couple had two daughters, Anjali and Pallavi. He is survived by his wife and daughters. His mother too outlived him, but she died later. In 1991, he was conferred with the Arjuna Award for his contribution to the Indian volleyball. He was also a recipient of G. V. Raja Award, the highest Kerala State Government sports honour.
