Chuni Goswami, Indian football legend and former Bengal cricketer, breathes his last
Indian football legend and former first-class cricketer Chuni Goswami passed away in Kolkata today (April 30)
FollowKolkata: Legendary Indian footballer Chuni Goswami (Subimal Goswami) (pictured above with Pele), who also played first-class cricket, passed away in Kolkata on Thursday (April 30) due to cardiac arrest. He was 82.
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The Indian great breathed his last at a Kolkata hospital. He is survived by his wife wife Basanti and son Sudipto. He played 50 matches for the Indian football team.
"He suffered a cardiac arrest and died in the hospital at around 5pm," a family source told PTI news agency.
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Under Goswami’s captaincy, Indian football team won the Asian Games gold in 1962 and also took silver in the Asian Cup in 1964. As a cricketer, he captained Bengal to the Ranji Trophy final in 1971-72 season.
As a right-handed batsman he scored 1,592 runs in 46 first-class matches and also took 47 wickets with his right-arm medium pace bowling.
On its Twitter account, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mourned the death of Goswami. It wrote, "BCCI mourns the death of Subimal ‘Chuni’ Goswami, an all-rounder in the truest sense. He captained the Indian national football team & led to them to gold in the 1962 Asian Games. He later played first-class cricket for Bengal & guided them to the final of Ranji Trophy in 1971-72."
On January 15 this year, on his 82nd birthday, India Post honoured him with a postal stamp. He was born on January 15, 1938. Goswami was a football superstar during his time. However, he bid adieu to the game at age of 27. He had made his India debut in 1956.
In cricket, he made his first-class debut for Bengal in 1962-63 season after retiring from football. He was a recipient of Padma Shri and Arjuna Awards.
A versatile player, Goswami also played hockey for his club team. He represented Mohun Bagan junior and senior football teams and also captained the club at the senior level.
On social media, football fans mourned the loss of Goswami.
