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‘His positivity was infectious’: Sourav Ganguly shares heartfelt tribute for PK Banerjee
Banerjee is regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever to don the jersey of India as he scored 65 international goals in 84 appearance for the national team.
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly shared a moving tribute for former India footballer Pradip Kumar Banerjee who passed away on Friday. He had been struggling with ill health for a while and took his final breath at the age of 83 in Kolkata. Ganguly sent out a heartfelt tribute for Banerjee on social media and his post read: “Lost a very dear person today. Someone whom I loved and respected enormously. Someone who had so much influence on my career when I was an 18 year old boy. His positivity was infectious. May his soul rest in peace. Lost two very dear persons this week.’
Banerjee is regarded as one of the greatest footballers ever to don the jersey of India as he scored 65 international goals in 84 appearance for the national team. Besides winning the gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games in 1962, he led India in the 1960 Rome Olympics, where he scored the equaliser against a formidable French team in a 1-1 draw.
Also read: Played one of my best matches under PK Banerjee: Baichung Bhutia
Before that, Banerjee represented India in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and played a key role in their 4-2 win over Australia in the quarterfinals.
Banerjee’s contribution to Indian football was duly recognised by the world governing body FIFA that awarded him the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004
He is survived by daughters Paula and Purna, who are renowned academicians, and younger brother Prasun Banerjee, who is a sitting Trinamool Congress MP.
(With PTI inputs)
