Legendary Indian footballer Chuni Goswami passed away on Thursday afternoon. The 82-year-old former India football captain died of cardiac arrest in a private hospital of Kolkata. He is survived by his wife and son.
“Distinguished former India footballer and first-class cricketer Chuni Goswami has died,” a family member said.
Chuni Goswami was admitted to the hospital earlier in the day and breathed his last at 5 pm.
Goswami, who was a professional cricket player, was suffering from underlying ailments with sugar, prostate, and nerve problems for the last few months. He had represented Bengal in first-class cricket tournaments.
Under his leadership, India’s football team bagged gold in the 1962 Asian Games, finished runner-up in the Asian Cup in 1964, and narrowly lost to Burma in Mardeka football six months later.
Goswami always played for Mohun Bagan jersey and is a club legend. In his college days, he was the captain of both the football and cricket teams of Calcutta University.
Goswami always played for Mohun Bagan jersey and is a club legend. In his college days, he was the captain of both the football and cricket teams of Calcutta University.
Earlier in January, the Indian postal department honoured him by issuing a postal stamp on his 82nd birthday.
Chuni-da, as the Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri is fondly known amongst football supporters, is the third Indian footballer after the late Gostho Paul (1998), and late Talimeren Ao (2018) on whose name a postal stamp has been issued by the largest postal network in the world.
“It was a completely unexpected gesture. I’m really humbled with this honour shown to me. It’ll further inspire me to live a longer life,” Goswami had said.
