India - War, Peace and Glory
How a 15 year old country on the precipice of disaster after a severe war, found its soul through football.
#PausaHistoria [THREAD]
How a 15 year old country on the precipice of disaster after a severe war, found its soul through football.
#PausaHistoria [THREAD]
1962 – India and China fight a bloody war. It’s also the year Jakarta, Indonesia hosts the 4th edition of the Asian Games. Sound like two very unrelated things, right?
However it’s not so. Politics affecting sporting events is not a rare thing and the 1962 games were no exception. Indonesia had barred the participation of Israel and Taiwan as they considered themselves the allies of China and the Muslim countries in the Middle East.
An Indian member at IOC and one of the founding members of the Asian Games – Guru Dutt Sondhi, criticizes the decision and blasts Indonesia for involving political embargo in sports. He goes on to say the games should not be called Asian Games but Jakarta Games instead.
This statement, combined with existing tensions between India and China, completely changes the public image of India within the country. The Indian High Commission in Jakarta is ransacked by angry mobs while the Indian contingent of athletes face hostility throughout the event.
This is the scenario where the Indian football team finds itself in 1962. Drawn in a group against the defending Asian champions South Korea, Thailand and Japan, qualifying from the group was not an easy job.
But India had an ace on the bench. Manager Syed Abdul Rahim was the man behind India’s best years in football. A keen admirer of the Hungarian team of the early 50s, he was responsible for introducing tactical flexbility to a squad that only played the old English W-M formation.
The team’s first game was against South Korea. The team bus is stoned. Every Indian touch is booed and there are a wide range of abuses from the stands via the locals. The team too, is outclassed by the Koreans and lose 2-0.
But the squad didn’t let their morale down. The next game against Thailand was a rout. Chunni Goswami opened the scoring while PK Banerjee (in pic) scored a brace en route a 4-1 win. This perfectly set up a virtual quarterfinal against Japan in the final group game.
The Indian team were to play Japan 20 hours after the Thailand game ended. The Japanese had 4 days of rest. Add to that India’s main defender - Jarnail Singh (right) had been ruled out injured due to a head collision in the previous game and required 6 stitches on his head.
They weathered the storm against Japan in the first half with the difference in fitness levels clearly visible. However, the team found a collective spirit in the 2nd half and a late goal by Tulsidas Balaram tops off a 2-0 win to set up a semifinal clash with South Vietnam.
India made a flying start in the semifinal. The team were up 2-0 in the first half. However, the 2nd half saw a remarkable comeback from the opposition to make it 2-2. In the last minutes of the game, Chunni Goswami scored the winner to send India unexpectedly into the final.
India went into the final as heavy underdogs. Added to that was the hostility of the locals. There was severe booing as soon as the Indian anthem played out in the beginning. And that hostility continued throughout the game. But the team had a steely resolve.
PK Banerjee took the lead in the 17th minute. 3 minutes later, the recently returned Jarnail Singh would double the lead as the Senayan Stadium in Jakarta fell into a deafening silence. They conceded once but held on to the lead to win 2-1 and win the gold.
Indian football has never hit the same heights since and probably never will. The gross mismanagement of the football administration has continued to this day. However, a country with arguably the largest viewing fanbase of football deserves better.
The 1962 Asian Games were a story of fortitude that the Indian football legends presented on the field. The victory came in the face of all kinds of adversity – financial, political and physical. The sheer willpower to go through all of it is something we can all learn from.
Apologies as the thread failed to mention the losing finalist. It was none other than South Korea, the defending Asian champions and the team that had outclassed India in the first group game.
