The 1972 Munich Olympics is a time which former Indian hockey goalkeeper Charles Cornelius will never be able to forget – for two main reasons.

One of the reasons is that India defeated the Dutch and clinched the bronze medal. The other is the gory attack on September 5 in which Israeli athletes bore the brunt of terrorists striking right inside the Games village. The incident cast a pall of gloom in the happy atmosphere of the Olympics. An event which signified the height of competition and more importantly friendship and brotherhood had been targeted. And Cornelius was one of those who was very close to where it happened.

"Two Israeli athletes were shot inside the dormitory and seven of them were taken hostage by the terrorists," recalled Cornelius. "It was all very confusing. Initially, we did not know what was happening. There were masked men and there were leaflets being thrown around which actually contained the demands of the terrorists. We thought there a movie was being shot.

"Just after the incident happened, we had crossed that place and gone for breakfast. We were returning but were told not to go near the village since something seemed to be wrong. I can remember that the great American swimmer Mark Spitz, who had won seven gold medals, was given special security.

"Only next morning did we realise that it was a terrorist attack and that two Israelis were killed and seven were taken hostage. Much later, after noon, the rest of the Israeli athletes were also killed," Cornelius added.

Shock and disbelief

Needless to say, the atmosphere there was of shock and disbelief. The competitors from about 120 countries could not believe that such a ghastly act could have been perpetrated on sportspersons.
"It was really sad. The happy atmosphere was no more present. Athletes and officials wore black armbands. The bodies of the dead athletes were brought to the main stadium. Many were in tears and it was a very sad atmosphere indeed," Cornelius recalls.

"Of course, many would have probably been affected by the incident. After this, athletes may not have been able to give their best. Though sad, we were not really affected and we had to concentrate on the job at hand. We went on to win the bronze medal."

There was, however, to be a personal tragedy for Cornelius later in life that curbed the career of a very talented goalkeeper. A camp was being conducted at Patiala in preparation for the 1974 Tehran Asiad. Cornelius sustained an injury in his leg. "I think I was given injections with infected syringes and my knee began to get worse. There was pus in it," Cornelius said. "I was in London for several months for the operation but I had no medical insurance or anything of the sort but I did get some help from well-wishers.
"I never fully recovered from the injury and subsequently was not included in the team. I feel I could have played much more if it were not for the injury," said Cornelius, who later coached two of India's brightest goalkeepers – Ashish Ballal and AB Subbaiah.

Cornelius later joined the Sports Authority of India as coach and also worked with former Indian captain MP Ganesh as the goalkeeping coach of the Indian team.

Currently 66, Cornelius lives in Chennai. It is indeed sad that a talented goalkeeper like him had to go through so much in life. Had it not been for the injury, Cornelius would perhaps have had the opportunity to serve India for many more years.