The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : These footballers played barefoot

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Wednesday, Aug 13, 2008
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Karnataka - Bangalore

These footballers played barefoot

K.C. Vijaya Kumar

A veteran remembers the hospitality the team enjoyed at Helsinki

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

T. Shanmugaham.

Bangalore: Tired but happy feet! That might well sum up the Olympic memories of T. Shanmugham, who was part of the Indian football team that played in the Helsinki Games in 1952. “We used to play barefoot then while our rivals Yugoslavia were booted. Here in India, we were used to playing on hard surfaces and there it was grass all over. There was also a drizzle before the match and the conditions were slippery and it proved to be an advantage for Yugoslavia’s booted players while we struggled. They defeated us 10-1, and if I remember correct, Yugoslavia emerged runner-up in the Games, that year,” Shanmugham recalled.

The veteran remembers vividly the hospitality that the team enjoyed at Helsinki. “The people were so nice and they were amazed by the fact that we played barefoot. In fact, many of them turned up and some of them even touched and felt our feet in amazement. They just couldn’t understand how we managed to play barefoot! Those days were special,” Mr. Shanmugham said. What about the present Indian contingent at Beijing ? “What can we say except wishing them luck,” he said.

Meanwhile, another Olympian footballer, Ahmed Hussain, spoke about the team’s progress at the Melbourne Games in 1956. “We lost to Yugoslavia in the semi-finals and, incidentally, we had lost to the same team in the 1952 games in the very first match. In the semi-final, we were leading but in the second half, they came back and scored the winning goals. Actually, at that time we were used to playing 50-minute matches and we struggled with the International format of 90 minutes and we were all tired towards the end of the match and that also helped Yugoslavia come back,” Mr. Hussain said.

As for Indian expectations at Beijing, Hussain said: “Unfortunately this time our hockey team did not qualify and it is a very sad event for Indian sport. Hopefully, we are all expecting medals.”

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