Samar Banerjee, who captained India to a fourth-place finish in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, is no more. The 92-year-old footballer was admitted to a city hospital with age-related complications on July 27. His condition kept deteriorating as he contracted COVID-19 and breathed his last in the early hours of Saturday.
Widely known by his nickname ‘Badru’, he was greatly revered by all generations of footballers and supporters for his amiable nature. Born on January 30, 1930, Badru started his career with Milan Samity before joining Bally Protiva, a club in his native town in Howrah district.
Badru’s skill as a forward came to be widely appreciated and he joined Mohun Bagan in 1952, after a brief stint with the famous Bengal-Nagpur Railway Football Club. He was also brilliant in studies and enrolled as a student of medicine in a prominent medical college in the city. But he opted to give it up after three years of study for his first love — football.
Best-ever achievement
His exploits with Mohun Bagan soon earned him a place in the Indian team. His academic and leadership qualities fetched him the captaincy of the Indian team that reached the semifinals at the Melbourne Olympics.
India took the fourth spot losing the semifinal to Yugoslavia (4-1) and the third-place match to Bulgaria (3-0). That remains the best-ever performance by India at the Olympics or any other world event.
Badru became a Mohun Bagan stalwart and stayed with the club for eight seasons before hanging up his boots at the age of 30. He then took up coaching and went on to manage the Bengal football team, which won the National championship for the Santosh Trophy in 1961.
After his coaching stint he went on to become a Bengal selector and remained associated with the Indian Football Association for a considerable period.
The West Bengal Government honoured Badru Banerjee with the Lifetime Achievement Award in sports in 2017.
Tributes
Bagan, which accorded him its highest honour — Mohun Bagan Ratna — in 2009, paid rich tributes and his body was kept at the club for fans to pay their respects. The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, also paid her tributes by remembering the great footballer who made India proud.
