Manathi Ganesan is an Indian former kabaddi player from Tamil Nadu. He was a member of the Indian men’s team which won the gold medal at the prestigious 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima. The following year he was honoured with Arjuna Award, for his contributions to the sport. He played centre, a position taken by the key raider. 2025 Tamil hit film Bison Kaalamaadan directed by Mari Selvaraj was a tribute to the athlete who overcame all odds to succeed in the field of sports, especially caste oppression and discrimination. The movie was inspired from his struggles to become a member of national team.
Manathi Ganesan was born in a rural village of Tamil Nadu
His real name is Perumal Ganesan, shortly written as P. Ganesan. Manathi is the name of his village, which belongs to Thoothukudi district. He was born amid a backdrop of caste oppression and poverty. Since childhood he was attracted to Kabbadi sport and used to play locally. He started taking the sport seriously only in the 1980s. His powerful raiding style and village-based training earned him the nickname “Manathi Ganesan”. Even crowds from neighbouring villages were attracted to his game.
During his higher secondary days, his talents were noticed and encouraged by his Physical Education teacher Thangarasu. Ganesan was studying in Pope Memorial Higher Secondary School in Sawyerpuram those days. He played for the school team and went on to represent Manathi and the district teams. He was a member of Sun Paper Mill’s team, which helped him a lot.
Ganesan rose to fame through district-level tournaments in southern Tamil Nadu. He played for local clubs and finally managed to find place in state and national team. He later joined the sports quota of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. He has played for Tamil Nadu for 10 years, and in the National team for 4 years. Being a part of the team, which won gold at 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima is his biggest achievement as a player. India won the finals against Pakistan, after their first match was abandoned in controversial circumstances and a replay was ordered by the technical committee later.
His fans called him the Bullock
For his aggressive style and powerful raiding style, he was immensely popular among the rural folk during his active years. The game came naturally to him, as he played in mud barefooted since the age of 8. The village has passion for this game and even his father and grandfather have played it. During daytime he worked in the fields and practised the game after that. He also travelled many villages to appear in competitions.
He practised head-butting on trees and walls, perfecting his skill to avoid being caught during raids. He used this technique in his games a lot, which proved to be a great advantage for him. For this, people used to call him bullock (Bison), which inspired the title of the film made by Mari Selvaraj. He currently serves as Senior Sports Officer with the TNEB. He has also acted as a personal coach for Dhruv Vikram for the movie and trained him for 1 year.
Manathi Ganesan – Some interesting and less-known facts
1. He is only the second sportsman from Tamil Nadu to be given Arjuna Award for kabaddi.
2. Apart from the historic gold medal win in 12th Asian Games at Hiroshima in 1994, he also won gold in the Nationals in 1993, and third position in the Federation Cup tournament in 1995.
3. Ganesan managed to afford good diet only after joining government service. Till then he mostly ate Congi with dry fish. His mother used to prepare sesame balls with palm jaggery and fed him for body strength.
4. Director Mari Selvaraj has seen Ganesan playing kabaddi, when he was around 10 years old and got impressed. Both are relatives. Years later, he made the movie, Bison Kaalamaadan based on his life and struggles. The film is a fictionalised account of Ganesan’s life.
5. Initially he pursued hockey. Encouraged by teachers and the local sports culture, he switched to kabaddi later.
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