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Mariappa Kempaiah (Kannada: ಮರಿಯಪ್ಪ ಕೆಂಪಯ್ಯ) (4 March 1932) is commonly known by his nickname Kempiah Da (Bengali) as an Indian international footballer and athlete. He was born in Bangalore. As a wing half, represented the country in the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics. He had also played for the country in the International Quadrangle Football tournament, played in the now Bangladesh in 1955 and in Asian Games held in Japan in 1958.
At club level he played for Bangalore Muslims before periods with the Calcutta clubs. He also played for Mysore in the inter-provincial Santosh Trophy. In 1956, he moved to Calcutta and played till 1964 with distinction for East Bengal and Mohun Bagan two of the giants of Indian soccer. He played alongside great players like Jarnail Singh, Arun Ghosh, Chuni Goswami, P.K. Banerjee, Balaram, Kannan, Abdul Rehman and Syed Azizuddin.
Individual honours and appreciations
Kempaiah won numerous awards during his playing career as well as after retirement for his contribution towards Indian football.
The major awards won by him are
- 1962 Best Wing half Award
- 1968 Facilitated by the Karnataka chief minister for his achievement in sports.
- 1983 Award from the Karnataka Football association
- 2000 Sportsman of the Millennium
Other activities
Kempaiah was a very versatile person. He was a boxer before choosing football as a career. He had a lot of long distance runs to his calibre before his passion for football arose.