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Peter Thangaraj

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Peter Thangaraj
Personal information
Date of birth (1935-12-24)24 December 1935
Place of birth Hyderabad
Date of death 24 November 2008(2008-11-24) (aged 72)
Place of death Bokaro, India
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Centre forward (occasionally)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1953–1960 Madras Regimental Centre
1960–1963 Mohammedan Sporting
1963–1965 Mohun Bagan
1965–1971 East Bengal
1971–1972 Mohammedan Sporting
International career
India ? (1[1])
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  India
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 1962 Jakarta Team
AFC Asian Cup
Runner-up 1964 Israel Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Havildar Peter Thangaraj (24 December 1935 – 24 November 2008) was an Indian football player and a non-commissioned officer in the Indian Army.[2][3] Thangaraj played for the Indian national side at the 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome Olympics.[4] He was voted Asia's best goalkeeper in 1958.[5] Thangaraj was a recipient of Arjuna Award for the year 1967.[6][7]

Thangaraj played domestic club football for both the Calcutta Football League clubs Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. He earned fame during his days with the "red and gold brigade" from 1965 to 1971, and captained the team in 1969–70.[8][9][10] He was the first choice goalkeeper for the club over the years.[11][12][13]

Club career

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Thangraj was born in 1935 in Hyderabad State. He began his football career with Morning Star Club, and then moved to Friends Union Club of Secunderabad.[14] He joined the Indian Army in 1953 and began representing the Madras Regimental Centre where he played as a centre forward, but took to goalkeeping subsequently with great success.[15] Madras Regimental Centre won the Durand Cup in 1955 and 1958.[14] Thangaraj captained the Services team for its first-ever triumph in the Santosh Trophy in 1960.[14]

As a goalkeeper, he was simply unbeatable. He had a little weakness with ground shots but in the air, he was superb. He used to pluck the ball in the air from attacks or corner kicks. Even from penalties, at point-blank range, he would pull off miraculous saves.

— Gautam Roy, football historian, on Peter Thangaraj to the Olympic Channel.[16]

After leaving Services, Thangaraj played for Kolkata giants Mohammedan Sporting (1960–63, 1971–72), Mohun Bagan[17] (1963–65), and East Bengal (1965–71) and was a huge fan favorite at the time. He was part of the Bengal team, which won the Santosh Trophy in 1963. Later, he led the Railways in 1965 and won the Santosh Trophy for them. Along with the likes of Chuni Goswami and P. K. Banerjee, Thangaraj was one of the mainstays of the Indian team in 1960s and 70s.

International career

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Thangaraj had an illustrious international career. His first stint with the Indian team was the Quadrangular Tournament held at Dacca in 1955. Under the coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim, he played for India both at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics, and represented India at 1958 Tokyo, 1962 Jakarta,[18] and 1966 Bangkok Asian Games.[19] India won the Gold Medal at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.

He represented India at the Merdeka Cup tournament held at Kuala Lumpur from 1958 to 1966. He also represented India at the 1964 and 1966 Asian Cup held in Israel and Burma respectively.[20][21] He was named the Best Goalkeeper of Asia in 1958, and awarded the Arjuna Award in 1967.Recognizing his contribution to Indian football, he was awarded the Arjuna Award by the government of India in 1997.[22] He twice played for the Asian All-Star team and was adjudged the Best Goalkeeper in 1967. Thangaraj retired from active football in 1971 and then took to coaching.[23][24]

Managerial career

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After retirement, in 1973, Thangaraj became head coach of the football team of Aligarh Muslim University.[25] He later managed Goa Professional League side Vasco SC until 1975. After that he joined Steel Authority of India Limited and remained in Bokaro Steel Plant from 1976 till his retirement in 1995.[25] At that time, Vasco won Bordoloi Trophy, KFA Shield and Chakola Gold Trophy in 1973.[26]

Later life, death and legacy

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Thangaraj was a devoted follower of Lev Yashin, and was later appointed as advisor of the football department/division of Bokaro Steel Plant.[14] He died in Bokaro (now in Jharkhand), on 24 November 2008 after a massive heart-attack.[14]

Legendary strikers of India, Chuni Goswami and P. K. Banerjee often credited his long kicks as source of some of their best goals in career.[14]

Honours

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India

Madras Regimental Centre

Mohun Bagan[30]

East Bengal

Services

Bengal

Railways

Individual

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Colombo Cup 1953 (Rangoon, Burma)". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Peter Thangaraj : Biographical information & Results". Olympedia. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Still get goosebumps remembering 1962 Asian Games football gold run: Arun Ghosh". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of India. PTI. 4 September 2020. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Old-timers recollect past glory of city football". thehansindia.com. The Hans India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Peter Thangaraj dead". Express India. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
  6. ^ "List of Arjuna Award Winners — Football". yas.nic.in. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 25 December 2007.
  7. ^ "List of Arjuna Awardees (1961–2018)" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Kolkatafootball.com :East Bengal League History: Indian Football Capital's News". kolkatafootball.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  9. ^ "East Bengal FC » Historical squads". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  10. ^ "East Bengal Club — The Official Site of East Bengal Club". eastbengalclub.co.in. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  11. ^ ETV Bharat News Desk, West Bengal, 12:56 PM IST (16 June 2019). "ভারত-পাকিস্তানের জার্সি গায়ে মাঠে নেমেছিলেন বলাই দে" [Balai Dey, who played for both the India and Pakistan]. etvbharat.com (in Bengali). ETV Network. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Basu, Jaydeep (13 August 2022). "Indian Football: Balai Dey, the Mohun Bagan legend who played for both India and Pakistan". scroll.in. Scroll. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  13. ^ Bhattacharya, Ayan (10 September 2023). "বাংলা ভাগের ক্ষত কিভাবে বিষিয়ে দিল মোহনবাগান আর ইস্টবেঙ্গলকে?" [How did the wound of the partition of Bengal poisoned both Mohun Bagan and East Bengal?]. inscript.me (in Bengali). Kolkata: ইনস্ক্রিপ্ট বাংলা নিউজ. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Sengupta, Somnath (14 May 2018). "Legends of Indian Football : Peter Thangaraj". thehardtackle.com. Mumbai: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  15. ^ "SportMob – Best Indian football players of all time". SportMob.com. 12 May 2021. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  16. ^ Nag, Utathya (31 January 2022). "PK, Chuni, Balaram, the troika that scripted Indian football's Golden Era". olympics.com. The Olympics. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  17. ^ Sengupta, Somnath (4 April 2011). "Legends Of Indian Football: Jarnail Singh". thehardtackle.com. Mumbai: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
  18. ^ Sengupta, Somnath (13 July 2011). "Tactical Evolution of Indian Football (Part Two): Revolution Under Rahim Saab". thehardtackle.com. Kolkata: The Hard Tackle. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  19. ^ Qadiri, Faizan (4 September 2015). "Syed Abdul Rahim: The Indian Ferguson | The visionary who guided India to their greatest success". www.sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  20. ^ Alper, Tim. "Asian Eye – Indian football still finding its feet :: Total Football Magazine – Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two, Non-League News". totalfootballmag.com. Total Football Magazine. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  21. ^ Media Team, AIFF (15 August 2022). "Indian Football Down the Years: Looking back at the glorious moments". www.the-aiff.com. New Delhi: All India Football Federation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  22. ^ "Arjuna Award winners". Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Archived from the original on 25 December 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  23. ^ "Thangaraj passes away". The Hindu. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  24. ^ "Peter Thangaraj profile at Sports Portal, Govt. of India". Archived from the original on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  25. ^ a b Chaudhuri, Arunava. "Legends of Indian football :: Hall of Fame: PETER THANGARAJ". indianfootball.de. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  26. ^ "Former Vasco defender George Ambrose no more". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Panaji, Goa: The Times of India. TNN. 8 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  27. ^ "Asian Cup: Know Your History - Part One (1956-1988)". Goal.com. 7 January 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  28. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2000). "The Indian Senior Team at the 1959 Merdeka Cup". www.indianfootball.de. IndianFootball. Archived from the original on 8 June 2018. (information given by Jaydeep Basu, Sunil Warrier, and Gautam Roy).
  29. ^ "The Indian Senior Team at the 1966 Merdeka Cup". indiafootball.de. IndiaFootball. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  30. ^ Mukherjee, Soham (30 April 2020). "1960–1965: When Chuni Goswami & co propelled Mohun Bagan to the zenith of success". Goal. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  31. ^ Chaudhuri, Arunava (2000). "National Award winning Footballers". indianfootball.de. IndianFootball. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Asian All Stars". Gov.sg. The Straits Times. 26 May 1967. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  33. ^ Roy, Gautam; Ball, Swapan (2007). "East Bengal Football Club – Famous Players". www.eastbengalfootballclub.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2009.
  34. ^ a b Ghoshal, Amoy (23 November 2016). "All time Indian XI". sportskeeda.com. Sportskeeda. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.

Further reading

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