John Peter (field hockey)
Victor John "V. J." Peter was an Indian professional field hockey player. A three-time Olympian who played as a halfback, he was a part of the Indian national team that won the silver, gold and bronze medals respectively in the 1960, the 1964 and the 1968 Olympic Games. Peter's brother Victor Philips was a member of the 1975 World Cup winning team.
Born in Madras, Peter represented his employer Madras Engineer Group, and Services at the club level. Peter was renowned for his "dribbling skills, ball control and playmaking" and was called by former teammates Harbinder Singh and Inam-ur Rahman as "one of the best inside-rights India ever produced". Another former teammate Gurbux Singh credited him as having been the "architect of India's triumph over Pakistan in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics final." Peter was also instrumental in India's gold medal winning campaign at the 1966 Asian Games. Following his death in June 1998, another former teammate Charles Cornelius recalled, "Peter was pure magic, and I will never forget the combination of Mohinder Lal, Joginder and Peter." M. P. Ganesh felt he was a "very artistic player and his passing was accurate and well-timed."
