Former India footballer Amar Bahadur Gurung breathed his last at a hospital in Gurgaon on Wednesday evening. Bahadur, who was fondly known as ‘Amar Dai’ among the footballing fraternity, was suffering from a bout of jaundice and was admitted to a hospital, but succumbed to the illness. He was 73.
Bahadur made his India debut against Cambodia in the Asia Cup qualifiers in Cambodia in 1967, and earned 22 caps. The mercurial left-winger, with his canny ball control and clinical finishing, scored the all-important winning goal in India’s 1-0 win against Japan which secured a bronze medal at the 1970 Asian Games in Bangkok.
He also represented India in three editions of the Merdeka Cup and played in the Pesta Sukan Cup in 1970. Considered one of the greatest left-wingers India has ever produced, Bahadur was a regular member of the National team in the mid-60s and early 70s.
At the domestic level, he was part of the triumphant Gorkha Brigade team which won the Durand Cup in 1966 and won the Rovers Cup for Mafatlal SC in 1968. In the Santosh Trophy, he represented Services and Maharashtra, scoring eight goals (all for Maharashtra).
He was awarded Maharashtra’s highest sporting honour, the Shiv Chhatrapati Shivaji Award, in 1973.
Published - March 11, 2016 03:49 am IST
