He was invited to join the Services football team after he volunteered to stand in as the goalkeeper in a inter-club match and excelled at it. A few months later, he was again called to volunteer as a goalkeeper for a hockey match where his performance earned him a spot in the Navy Junior team and within a year, he was called up to the Indian National Hockey team in 1976.[2][5]
He was part of the squad that lost the 1978 Asian Games final to rivals Pakistan. Two years later, he was part of the 1980 Summer Olympics squad where the Indian national team captured their eighth Olympic gold medal. He was the second goalkeeper in the squad, with Bir Bahadur Chettri being the main goalkeeper.[5]