Sheoo Mewalal (also known as Sahu Mewalal; 1 July 1926 – 27 December 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 ...

er in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

. He played as a striker and was known for his fitness,

bicycle kick In association football, a bicycle kick, also known as an overhead kick or scissors kick, is an acrobatic strike where a player kicks an airborne ball rearward in midair. It is achieved by throwing the body backward up into the air and, before ...

s, and goal-scoring abilities, especially using the rabona kick. Mewalal's playing career with a reported 1032 goals along with 32 hat-tricks in both the official and exhibition matches, was ended in 1958 due to an injury.

Childhood and early career

Mewalal was born in Daulatpur in Chitarghati Panchayat of the

Gaya district } Gaya district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. It was officially established on 3 October 1865. The district has a common boundary with the state of Jharkhand to the south. Gaya city is both the district he ...

(now

Nawada district Nawada district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the Indian state of Bihar. Nawada is its administrative headquarters. The district is the easternmost district of the Magadh division, one of the nine administrative divisions of Bihar. The ...

) in

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

, to Sahoo Mahadeoram and Kusumi Devi. He spent his early days playing football with the seeds of a tar tree near the banks of the Khuri River, which flows through his village. In 1937, his family moved to Calcutta (now

). His father worked at Fort William, and the family resided in the Fort William and

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

neighborhoods. Once in Calcutta, Mewalel's footballing talent was noticed by Sergeant Barnett who helped him join the Morning Star Club. Barnett would become his first coach. Known for his ability to shoot with both feet, Mewalal credited Sergeant R. Blackey for helping him learn the technique. Earlier coached by Bagha Som, he began playing as a right-in and was eventually urged by the club to play in the center-forward position, considering his physique and ball-shooting technique. He began playing for the Napier Club the following year. He made his name at the club after scoring an important goal in a draw against Grear Sporting Club. Mewalal also represented

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Santosh Trophy The National Football Championship for Santosh Trophy, or simply Santosh Trophy, is an inter-state national football competition contested by the state associations and government institutions under the All India Football Federation (AIFF), th ...

and played alongside Sailen Manna, and won the tournament in 1953–54 season, in which he scored a goal in their 3–1 win against

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

in final. Managed by

Balaidas Chatterjee Balaidas Chatterjee (10 March 1900 – 1974) was an Indian footballer and football manager, who played predominantly as defender. He became the first head coach of the India national team and guided them at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. D ...

, Bengal won multiple Santosh Trophy titles during that time, and Mewalal scored all total 39 goals for the team.

Club career

Mewalal started his senior career in 1938 with Kidderpore SC which was then playing in the 2nd Division of the Calcutta Football League. He came into the limelight in 1944 when he scored the winning goal for the IFA XI against India XI. In 1945, he joined the 1st Division club

Aryans ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...

, one of the oldest clubs in the country. It was his

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

for Aryans in the same year against

Mohun Bagan A.C. Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest multi-sports clubs in Asia. The club has various sports departments like football, cricket, hockey ...

in a Calcutta league match that impressed the then Mohun Bagan captain Sailen Manna. Mewalal also appeared with another Calcutta Football League side George Telegraph. In 1946, he joined Mohun Bagan and played under captaincy of Manna. In 1947, he joined the Eastern Railway Football Club. After spending eight years with them, he joined BNR Football Club. In 1958, while playing in an Inter-Railway tournament in

Kharagpur Kharagpur () is a semi- planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in the Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision and the largest city of the district. It is located 1 ...

, he broke his knee. This incident ended Mewalal's illustrious 20-year career. During his club career, Mewalel scored more than 150 goals in the local league. He also scored 39 goals—including five hat-tricks—for BNR in the

competition. Mewalal was the top scorer in the Calcutta Football League on four occasions. He achieved this feat in 1949, 1951, and 1954 for Eastern Railways and in 1958 for BNR. He also scored a record of 32 hat-tricks in local football tournaments, a record unbroken to this day. Mewalal scored 1032 goals in his career, in official and unofficial games.

International career

Playing for the India national team, Mewalal's first major tournament was the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. As part of the preparation for Olympics, he went to Europe with the national team in July, that won matches against English teams like Pinner F.C., Hayes F.C. and Alexandra Park FC. In the Olympics, Indian team managed by

, went down 1–2 to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Following the Olympics, the

Talimeren Ao Talimeren Ao (28 January 1918 – 13 September 1998) was an Indian Association football, footballer and physician from Nagaland. He is best known as the captain of the India national football team in their first ever match after independence. O ...

led team played

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

s, winning a game against the Dutch club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...

5–1. He emerged as the top scorer in these games. Mewalal became part of the prominent Indian team during the "golden era" of Indian football, managed by Hyderabad City Police head coach Syed Abdul Rahim, became one of the best teams in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In March 1951, at the inaugural

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games, officially known as the First Asian Games (), were a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Games received names like First Asiad, 1951 Asiad, and New Dehli 1951 (). A total of 489 athl ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, he finished as the top scorer with four goals, with India winning the gold medal. Mewalal and his team defeated

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

1–0 in the gold medal match to gain their first trophy. He was also a part of the team that competed at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. He was also part of the national team that toured to several European countries in the late 1940s and played against teams like Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, in which he netted six goals. He later participated in the team's tours of

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

, and

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

during the 1950s. Mewalel was the first player after independence to score a hat-trick for India in a 4–0 victory over

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

in the 1952 Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament.

Managerial career

In the mid-1970s, Mewalal became interim manager of

India national football team The India national football team represents India in men's international Association football, football and is governed by the All India Football Federation, the governing body for Football in India, football in India. It is a member of FIFA, ...

and guided them achieving third place in 1977 King's Cup. He also worked as a trainer in the coaching camp formed by Russa United Club in Tollygunge in the 1990s.

Personal life

Mewalal married Laxmi Devi Lal in 1944 at the age of 18. They had three children together. He was admitted to a Kolkata hospital on 14 November 2008 after suffering from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. Diagnosed with a

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

, he was again admitted on 8 December and was operated upon on 19 December, after which he was placed on a liquid diet. He died on 27 December.

Honours

Player

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:

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

* Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament:

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

Mohun Bagan *

IFA Shield The IFA Shield is a football competition organized by the Indian Football Association, the football governing body in the Indian state of West Bengal. The IFA came into existence in 1893, and was named after the association. The IFA Shield to ...

: 1947 Bengal *

: 1950–51, 1953–54 Aryan *

runner-up: 1956 Individual *

top scorer:

* Calcutta Football League top scorer: 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958

Manager

India * King's Cup third place:

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

References

Cited sources Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * * Further reading * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mewalal, Sahu Indian men's footballers Olympic footballers for India Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics 1926 births 2008 deaths People from Nawada district Footballers from Bihar Mohun Bagan Super Giant players Aryan FC players India men's international footballers Asian Games medalists in football Footballers at the 1951 Asian Games Medalists at the 1951 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for India Men's association football forwards Indian football managers India national football team managers Calcutta Football League players