Asian Games gold medallist and Olympian Tulsidas Balaram, part of Indian football's 'holy trinity' in the 1950s and 60s, passed away in Kolkata on Thursday after a prolonged illness, sources close to his family said.
Tulsidas Balaram, who passed into the ages last week, was a member of the Indian football team which reached the semis at the Olympics and won an Asian Games gold medal.
Maidaan draws out more yawns than yays, observes Sukanya Verma.
Chuni Goswami was also battling underlying ailments, including sugar, and prostrate and nerve problems. The versatile sports veteran was 82 and breathed his last at a hospital in Kolkata
India will need to travel back in time and seek inspiration from football greats Tulsidas Balaram and Chuni Goswami to deftly dribble around and sidestep the West-imposed price cap on exports of Russian seaborne crude oil. India depends on imported oil to meet 86 per cent of its needs, of which nearly a quarter now comes from Russia. The copious flows are roughly 10 per cent cheaper than competing suppliers helping India save billions of dollars in fuel costs.
He was a part of the 1960 Rome Olympics squad but didn't get a game but was an integral part of the 1962 Asiad gold winning team in Jakarta.
In a heart-warming tribute to his former teammate, Franco Fortunato recalls that "The team that won the Gold Medal in the 1962 Asian Games was a fantastic bunch. But Chuni was above all. He was a treat to watch. He was pure entertainment, a complete package. He was our captain, our darling".
From cricket great Sachin Tendulkar to renowned actor Ajay Devgn, Twitter was flooded with messages that relived fond memories associated with PK Banerjee, whose name goes well beyond the sport he played.
A fearless competitor who used brain and brawn in equal measure, Subhas Bhowmick was one of the most fascinating characters in Indian football through the 1970s with his muscular built and equally expressive carefree opinions.
Chuni Goswami was in a league of his own -- peerless -- and lived a life that will always be celebrated for being one of India's greatest.
India's footballers and cricketers -- both current and former -- reacted with shock after Goswami's demise. The versatile veteran, a former India football captain as well as a first-class cricketer, was 82.
PK Banerjee was captain of the Indian team that last played the Olympics in Rome 1960. He retired as a player in 1967 after being laid low by recurring injuries. But then went on accumulate a staggering 54 trophies as a coach.
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