Henry Rebello, one of India’s finest athletes of all-time,
Rebello, a triple jumper of the highest quality, represented India at the 1948 Olympic Games in London and was tipped to win a medal but an injury ruined his chances.
Rebello, who had spent his formative years in Bangalore, had caught the eye of the experts by taking the top spot in a pre-Olympic competition in London, two weeks before the Games.
He led the field in the preliminary round and noted commentator Harold Abraham, an Olympic champion himself, tipped the Indian for the gold medal. That was not to be, as he injured his hamstring in his first jump in the final and had to withdraw.
Rebello, only 19 then, was about to take his jump, but was told to wait since a medal presentation was on. In the cold London weather, Rebello had not warmed up properly and giving it all in his first try, hurt himself.
Rebello’s born and brought up in Bangalore and he did his schooling at the Baldwin Boys’ School. With no knowledge of scientific training methods, he devised his own training systems, learned from pictures in American books, and went on to dominate the Indian scene, after initially making his mark in inter-school competitions in Bangalore.
Rebello also used to compete in long jump and high jump. Marjorie Suares, one of Rebello’s contemperories and a high jumper herself, recalls an incident where he was disqualified for diving over the bar in a competition!
A late starter at 16, Rebello struck gold in the 1946 All India ‘Olympic’ competition in Bangalore. In 1948, he set a national record of 15.29 metres, which stood for almost two decades. The feat fetched him a spot in the Indian team for the London Olympic Games and made him a medal favourite as well, being the best mark in the world that season. But fate had other plans.
After the London Olympics, Rebello faded away from the sports scene as he focused on studies. After graduating from Loyola College in Madras, he joined the Indian Air Force, and retired as a Group Captain in 1980. He was actively involved in the running of the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, and then served as a Director in the Sports Authority of India from 1984 to 1988.
The Legend never dies the Star left us and joined the Galaxy from his home in Gurgaon on 28.08 2013 after a long illness. He was 84. Rebello is survived by a daughter and two sons.
