Pillay was born on July 16, 1968 in Khadki, Pune. Later, he moved to Mumbai in order to pursue professional hockey.
He made his international debut back in 1989 while taking part in the Allwyn Cup against New Zealand.
It just took three years for him to represent India at the Olympics. Though, at the Barcelona games, the Indian hockey team failed to do anything significant after managing to win just two matches out of the five group fixtures.
A similar story occurred at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. India only secured two wins and eventually finished at eighth spot.
India’s dismal show came to an end at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games as Pillay led his side to the prestigious gold medal. Pillay not only handled the responsibilities of the captaincy but also he scored goals for India on a regular basis. He scored 11 goals in the tournament and emerged as the highest scorer as well. His splendid show later earned him a spot in the Asian All-Star team also.
Later, Pillay donned the national jersey at the Olympics two more times but unfortunately his brilliance did not pay off as India could not win a medal.
His individual brilliance and skillful game stole the limelight at the 2002 Champions Trophy played in Cologne, Germany. Pillay, then 34, was declared the Player of the Tournament. India did finish at fourth spot but Pillay’s terrific performance was praised by all.
India, under the leadership of Pillay, won their first-ever Asia Cup title back in 2003. Pillay’s sharp leadership quality helped India to display a terrific game and remain unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Overall, Dhanraj Pillay represented India in 330 international matches.
In 1999, he received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India’s highest sporting honour.
He received Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award, back in 2001.
Pillay’s 16-year long international career came to an end in 2004. He retired at the age of 36 as the only hockey player to feature in four Olympics, four Asian Games, four World Cups and four Champions Trophy events.