Kolkata: Former Legendary Indian footballer Inder Singh may receive East Bengal ‘Bharat Gaurav’ from East Bengal on their foundation day on August 1.
Inder Singh made his debut in the Indian national team in 1963, as the first player from Punjab. He was selected to play in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup in Tel Aviv.
Singh played for his home state of Punjab in the Santosh Trophy. He had a hugely successful 1974–75 Santosh Trophy with Punjab winning the trophy. The team finished the tournament having scored 46 goals, with Singh scoring 23 of them, a record that still stands. The team beat Bengal in the final 6–0, with Singh scoring a hat-trick.
Following his retirement of professional football as a player in 1985 with JCT Mills, he went on to manage it for 16 years, till 2001. In this period, the club won the Federation Cup twice, and also the inaugural season of National Football League (1996–97). Following his spell as a manager of his former club, he was made the Honorary Secretary of the Punjab Football Association, a post that he held from 2001 to 2011.
Meanwhile, East Bengal may present Lifetime Achievement Award to former East Bengal coach Shyamal Ghosh and former East Bengal player Shyam Thapa who scored a brace in the historical 5-0 victory against Mohun Bagan in 1975 during the I.F.A Shield. After his playing career was over he was technical Director at the Williamson Magor Academy in Assam which later closed down and later at the Tata Football Academy. Such is Shyam Thapa’s fame that Nepal called him to revamp their football system in the 21st century and he was there in the first decade of the 21st century.
Although, it was not decided yet who would be East Bengal Player of the season for the 2015-16 but a few names are doing the rounds.
Meanwhile, East Bengal have signed Mohammedan Sporting left back Deepak Kumar for the CFL Premier Division.