Captain of 1956 Olympic football team ‘Badru’ Banerjee passes away

Kolkata, August 20

Former India football team captain Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee, who led the country to a historic fourth-place finish at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, died today in the wee hours after having gone through prolonged illness.

Banerjee, who was 92, is survived by his daughter-in-law. Fondly known as ‘Badru Da’, he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, azotemia and high blood pressure-related ailments and was admitted to the MR Bangur Hospital after testing positive for Covid on July 27.

“As his health deteriorated he was shifted to the state-run SSKM Hospital under the supervision of state sports minister Arup Biswas. He breathed his last around 2:10 am,” Mohun Bagan secretary Debasish Dutta said.

Banerjee’s body was brought to the club as the members and fans paid their last respects.

Melbourne 1956

The Indian team has participated in three Olympics till date, and the performance by the Banerjee-led 1956 side remains the best. Under his leadership, India had finished fourth after losing to Bulgaria 0-3 in the bronze medal playoff in what is known as the golden era of football in the country.

Having got a walkover in the first round, the Syed Abdul Rahim-coached side that also had the likes of PK Banerjee, Neville D’Souza and J ‘Kittu’ Krishnaswamy, defeated Australia 4-2. D’Souza struck a hat-trick in that glorious win. But the team failed to make the final, going down 1-4 to Yugoslavia in the last-four stage.