Havildar Peter Thangaraj (24 December 1935 – 24 November 2008) was an Indian
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player and a
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
in the
Indian Army. Thangaraj played for the Indian national side at the 1956
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
and 1960
Rome Olympics. He was voted Asia's best
goalkeeper in 1958. Thangaraj was a recipient of
Arjuna Award for the year 1967.
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. He was the first choice goalkeeper for the club over the years.
Club career
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.
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. Madras Regimental Centre won the
Durand Cup in 1955 and 1958.
Thangaraj captained the Services team for its first-ever triumph in the
Santosh Trophy in 1960.
After leaving Services, Thangaraj played for Kolkata giants
Mohammedan Sporting (1960–63, 1971–72),
Mohun Bagan (1963–65), and
East Bengal
East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...
(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
Thangaraj had an illustrious international career. His first stint with the Indian team was the
Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament held at
Rangoon held in
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...
. Under the coaching of
Syed Abdul Rahim, he played for India both at the
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
and
1960 Olympics, and represented India at
1958 Tokyo,
1962 Jakarta, and
1966 Bangkok Asian Games.
India won the Gold Medal at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
He represented India at the
Merdeka Cup tournament held at
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
from 1958 to 1966. He also represented India at the 1964 and 1966
Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...
held in Israel and Burma respectively. 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
The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...
in 1997. 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.
Managerial career
After retirement, in 1973, Thangaraj became head coach of the football team of
Aligarh Muslim University.
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.
At that time, Vasco won
Bordoloi Trophy, KFA Shield and Chakola Gold Trophy in 1973.
Later life, death and legacy
Thangaraj was a devoted follower of
Lev Yashin, and was later appointed as advisor of the football department/division of
Bokaro Steel Plant.
He died in Bokaro (now in Jharkhand), on 24 November 2008 after a massive heart-attack.
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.
Honours
India
*
Asian Games
The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...
Gold medal:
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
*
AFC Asian Cup
The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...
runners-up:
1964
*
Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament:
1955
*
Merdeka Tournament runner-up:
1959; third-place: 1966
Madras Regimental Centre
*
Durand Cup: 1955, 1958
Mohun Bagan
*
Durand Cup: 1963, 1964, 1965
*
Calcutta Football League: 1963, 1964, 1965
East Bengal
*
IFA Shield: 1970
Services
*
Santosh Trophy: 1960–61
Bengal
*
Santosh Trophy: 1962–63
Railways
*
Santosh Trophy: 1964–65
Individual
*
Arjuna Award: 1967
*
AFC Asian All Stars: 1967
*AFC – Best Goalkeeper of Asia: 1958
*East Bengal Club Goalkeeper of the Millennium
* Asian Goalkeepers of the Century: 2000
* ''Sportskeeda'' All time Indian Football XI
See also
*
List of East Bengal Club captains
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thangaraj, Peter
Indian men's footballers
1935 births
2008 deaths
Olympic footballers for India
Recipients of the Arjuna Award
Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics
Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
India men's international footballers
Footballers from Hyderabad, India
Mohun Bagan Super Giant players
East Bengal Club players
Mohammedan SC (Kolkata) players
Men's association football goalkeepers
Asian Games medalists in football
Footballers at the 1958 Asian Games
Footballers at the 1962 Asian Games
Footballers at the 1966 Asian Games
Asian Games gold medalists for India
Medalists at the 1962 Asian Games
1964 AFC Asian Cup players
Calcutta Football League players