FOOTBALLER CHUNI GOSWAMI DIES
Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami, sportsman extraordinaire, Mohun Bagan legend and captain of the 1962 Asian Games football gold medal winning team, died in Kolkata on Thursday. He was 82.
KOLKATA: As a footballer, his presence could spike the price of prawn in Delhi in the time of the Durand Cup. At cricket, he stopped Gary Sobers’ West Indies and led Bengal to two Ranji Trophy finals. Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami, sportsman extraordinaire, Mohun Bagan legend and captain of the 1962 Asian Games football gold medal winning team, died here on Thursday. He was 82.
“He had traffic-stopping popularity,” said Raju Mukherjee, former Bengal and East Zone captain.
Mukherjee was talking about 1972. It had been a decade since India, under Goswami, won the football gold in Jakarta and eight years since he quit the national team after having captained in the final of the 1964 Asian Cup. “And yet, a train we were travelling in stopped longer than scheduled in Burdwan (now Bardhaman) because word got out that Chuni was on board,” says Mukherjee. Goswami could count among his fans Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, India’s second President. Seeing Goswami before a Durand Cup final, where the President was the chief guest, Radhakrishnan said: “You seem to have become a permanent feature in the finals.”
This was at a time when Mohun Bagan, the only club Goswami played for- starting as a junior in 1946 and retiring in 1968 - won the Durand Cup for three seasons in a row, from 1963. Goswami scored 200 goals for Mohun Bagan after joining the senior team in 1954. Goswami’s death comes a little over one month after former India teammate PK Banerjee. Banerjee, Goswami and Tulsidas Balaram were part of a famous India forwardline which scored nine of India’s 11 goals on way to the gold medal in Jakarta. India won 12 of the 16 games they played together.
Of wiry build, Goswami, an inside-left in a five-forward formation, had remarkable ball control and could dribble out of most situations. He could also pack a punch. India coach Syed Rahim had a soft spot for Goswami. Once, Goswami joined an India camp late and a player pointed that out to Rahim. “Play like him and I will let you join late too,” Rahim said. Goswami debuted for India against Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1958 Asian Games, and scored in his first match. He netted 13 goals in 36 internationals. He also played the 1960 Olympics. In Jakarta, 1962, Goswami scored three goals including a brace in the semi-finals as India beat South Vietnam 3-2.
Goswami also aced cricket. Goswami first played for Bengal in 1962 and his taking on Roy Gilchrist, who was representing Hyderabad, is part of folklore. His in-swingers helped a combined Central and East Zone team beat Sobers’ West Indies.
Goswami played 46 firstclass matches as an allrounder. He led Bengal in two Ranji Trophy finals. “He scored 96 and 84 in a final. We learnt much about fitness from him,” says former India lspinner Dilip Doshi. Born in Kishoreganj, now in Bangladesh, Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami was the first director of the Tata Football Aacdemy in Jamshedpur. He won the Arjuna award in 1963 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1983. Goswami is survived by wife Basanti and son Sudipto.