M. P. Ganesh or Mullera Poovayya Ganesh is a prominent name in the arena of field Hockey in India. This former Hockey player has served the Indian Hockey team as the captain and coach. In the year 1973 his contributions to the game have been awarded with the esteemed Arjuna Award. In 1981 he also received the Silver Jubilee Sports Award of Karnataka. Apart from being an excellent sportsman he has also been a brilliant coach who has trained India for several successful endeavours. M. P. Ganesh has also enriched the Indian sports arena through his outstanding administrative skills. M. P. Ganesh was born on 8th July 1946 in the Kodagu district, situated in the south Indian state Karnataka. His sports career started with Football when he used to play for the district between the period of 1960 and 1964. However later he shifted his focus to Hockey after joining the Indian Army. Since 1966 to 1973 he played in a number of Hockey tournaments. He did his post graduation in English. He also earned a Diploma Degree in Sports Coaching from the National Institute of Sports in Patiala, Punjab. Later he did Ph. D in physical education. 

M. P. Ganesh, since 1965 to 1973, represented the Services in the National Hockey Championship. In the 1974 National Championship he played for Bombay. He succeeded in acquiring a place in the Indian Hockey team in the year 1970. M. P. Ganesh represented India at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich during which the team finished third and won a Bronze. In the Asian Games he represented India twice, firstly in 1970 in Bangkok and later in Tehran in 1974. In both the occasions, India won a Silver Medal. He also played for the Indian Hockey team that achieved Bronze at the first World Cup at Barcelona in 1971. Under his captainship, the team won Silver in the next World Cup in Amsterdam. M. P. Ganesh was also a part of World XI in 1972 and Asian XI from 1970 to 1974. He played his last game for India in the year 1974 following which he suffered a knee injury.  

Later M. P. Ganesh served the Indian team as the official coach for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, 1989 Champions Trophy in Berlin, 1990 Indira Gandhi International Hockey Tournament in Lucknow, the 1990 World Cup in Karachi and others. Under his coaching, the Indian team bagged a Gold Medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. In the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur he was appointed as the Chairman of the Coaching Committee, Indian Hockey Federation. He also worked as the same for the 1998 Asian Games at Bangkok. Following this, Ganesh took up the role of an administrator for various sports organisations. His career in sports administration started after joining the Karnataka Department of Youth Services and Sports. He also worked as the Director of SAI (South). Following his retirement from SAI he stepped into the role of the Chief Executive of the Karnataka State Cricket Association.