In 1951, India's football team, considered Asia's strongest, created history by winning the gold medal

New Delhi, November 19, 2022, Saturday

The countdown to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar has begun. Football is the most popular sport played in the world. Football lovers in India want the Indian football team to participate in the World Cup competition but as cricket is more popular in India, football is not given enough attention. However, it will be surprising to know that the decade of 1950 to 1960 is considered to be the golden era of Indian football besides hockey.

In the 1950s, the Indian football team was considered the strongest team in Asia. Many countries of the world were invited to play football, but due to lack of money, the players were unable to go out. At that time there were many great players like Sailen Manna, Pramodkumar Banerjee, Peter Thangaraj, Jarnelsingh Dhillo. The name of Sailen Manna (Sailendranath Manna) is also taken with great respect when it comes to the golden age of Indian football.

In 1951, under the leadership of Sailen Manna, the football team won the gold medal in the Asian Games. Along with this, a new chapter was written in the field of football in independent India. From 1952 to 1955, a football series was played between Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka for four consecutive years in which Captain Manna scored a hat-trick of victories. In 1953, the English Football Association ranked Manna among the 10 best football captains in the world.

In 1962 also, the Indian football team won the gold medal in the Asian Games. At that time, the Indian football team was winning matches with difficulty due to the lack of various facilities. Like Sailen Manna, most of the players developed their passion for football as a hobby at the expense of the tumor. After the 1970s, the level of the Indian football team began to deteriorate. During the last 40 years, football has lagged behind compared to cricket.