Indian football Legend P K Banerjee passes away

Legendary Indian footballer P K Banerjee died yesterday in Kolkata after battling prolonged illness.

He was 83. The 1962 Asian Games gold-medallist was conferred with  Arjun award and Padmshree. Born on 23rd June 1936 in Moynaguri on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, Banerjee's family relocated to his uncle's place in Jamshedpur before partition. 

He scored 65 international goals in 84 appearances for the national team. Besides winning the gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games in 1992, Banerjee led India in the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he scored the equalizer against a formidable French team in a 1-1 draw. 

Before that, Banerjee represented India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and played a key role in their 4-2 win over Australia in the



quarterfinals.

Banerjee's contribution to Indian football was duly recognised by the world governing body FIFA that awarded him the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.

 

The West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and hundreds of sports lovers have condoled the death of legendary footballer and coach P. K. Banerjee.

He died in Kolkata this afternoon after brief illness at the age of 83 years. He was also known as P K in the football ground. 

Banerjee got Arjuna, FIFA awards and also received Gold Medal in Asian Games besides other prestigious awards.

The West Bengal government conferred him ‘Bangabibhushan Samman’ for his outstanding contributions in the field of sports.