AMN
Legendary Footballer Chuni Goswami died in Kolkata on Thursday afternoon after prolonged illness. He was 82. Chuni Goswami was the captain of gold medal winning Indian footballteam of Jakarta Asiad held in 1962.
He was awarded Arjun , Padmasree and several others prestigious awards for his outstanding contributions in the field of Sports . He received Mohonbagan Ratna awards in 2005 . The West Bengal Government conferred him the highest civilian award Banga Bibhusan in 2013 . Chuni Goswami was captain of Bengal Ranji Cricket team. He was also Sheriff of Kolkata.
President Ram Nath Kovid has expressed sadness at the passing away of football player Chuni Goswami. The President said in his demise, India’s football fans have lost a legend. He extended his condolences to his family, friends and admirers.
The West Bengal Chief Minister Miss Mamata Banerjee has also expressed deep sorrow over demise of the noted footballer.
Chuni played both football and cricket for Mohan Bagan. He was very skinny as a teenager and was asked to build muscles for entry into the Army as an NDA cadet. He started playing football at Mohan Bagan grounds to do just that. The club’s talent spotters picked him up and the rest is history.
A gentleman to the core, he captained the Indian football XI which won the ’62 Asiad gold. His team came runners up in the Merdeka Cup and was considered at that time the best side in Asia.
He also represented Bengal in the Ranjis.
He helped the combined team of East zone and central zone defeat Gary Sobers’ West Indies
XI in 1966. Goswami took a record 8 wickets to craft that victory.