Achievements:
Highest goal scorer in the Bangkok Asian Games
Member of World Eleven side during the 1994 World Cup
Padma Shri in 2000
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (1999)
Dhanraj Pillay has been one of the best all time Hockey players of India and also one of the most popular ones the game has ever produced in the nation. An extremely good forward with sharp attacking attitude, Dhanraj came from a very modest background and by dint of his sheer talent and charismatic skills rose to become one of the most prominent Hockey players of the nation.

Early Life
He was born on the 16th of July 1968 at Khadki, a small town near Pune, Maharashtra. His father used to serve at the Ordinance Factory and little Dhanraj began playing Hockey along with his friends with the broken Hockey sticks and ragged balls. Dhanraj received his education at Sugra Vilasi Sabha School, Khadki. He used to adore the style of the aggressive dribbler Mohammed Shahid, and try to copy him. Encouraged a lot by his mother, Dhanraj loved the game a lot and tried his hardest to excel in the game although he didn’t belong to a financially sound family.