Arjun Halappa (born December 17, 1980 in Somwarpet

Somwarpet

Somwarpet is a panchayat town in Kodagu district in the Indian state of Karnataka...

, Kodagu

Kodagu

Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...

, Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

) is a hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

 striker from India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

.

Career

Midfield maestro

Midfield Maestro

The term Midfield Maestro is a cliché used in football to describe a midfield player that excels in the technical and creative aspects of midfield play. A midfield maestro often creates goalscoring opportunities for the attackers, while at the same time controlling the tempo of the match and...

 Arjun Halappa is the son of former East Bengal Hockey Club player B.K. Halappa,

He hails from Kodagu

Kodagu

Kodagu , also known by its anglicised former name of Coorg, is an administrative district in Karnataka, India. It occupies an area of in the Western Ghats of southwestern Karnataka. As of 2001, the population was 548,561, 13.74% of which resided in the district's urban centres, making it the least...

 (Coorg) District, Karnataka. He joined the Centre of Excellence in 1998 and a year later played his first Senior Nationals at Hyderabad, and was picked among the 72 probables for a conditioning camp. He made his junior international debut in the Europe tour same year under coaches C.R. Kumar and Harendera. He posted eight goals in the 2000 Junior Asia Cup.

He made his international debut for the Men's National Team

India national field hockey team

The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....

 in March 2001 against Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 in the Prime Minister's Gold Cup. Halappa represented India at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Field hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Field Hockey at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Olympic Hockey Centre located within the Helliniko Olympic Complex. The competitions for both men and women was split into two groups with the top two teams after the preliminary rounds progressing through to the semi-finals.-Men's...

, where India finished in seventh place. He is the only player capable of performing in the playmaker role currently in Indian Hockey. He represented India at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

Hockey at the 2010 Commonwealth Games

The field hockey event for the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium from 4 October to 14 October 2010.- Medalists :- Umpires :Twelve umpires for the men's event were appointed by the Commonwealth Games Federation.- Pool A :...

in New Delhi, where India finished in second place.