Leslie Cladius admitted to hospital

Triple Olympic hockey gold winner Leslie Claudius, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, was again admitted to a private hospital following complications, his son Brandon said today.

The Bengal Hockey Association (BHA) was to confer the 'Lifetime Achievement' to the 85-year-old today, on the eve of their AGM, but his son said "the association did not inform me before announcing it to the media."

"How can you give him an award when he's hospitalised? They should have informed me before announcing it. He was taken to hospital yesterday for his abonormal fluid retention complications," Brandon said.

The former India captain was in a critical state as he was being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a city hospital for about a month before being released on December 4.

In the last one year, Claudius had been hospitalised about six times as his health had deteriorated.

Claudius has three Olympic gold medals -- London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956. At Rome in 1960, he led India to a silver medal finish.