The greatest success of Indian football is the team winning the Asian Games bronze medal in 1970. The man who was instrumental in such a great success to Indian football was Surajit Sengupta.
Early life
Surajit Sengupta was born on August 30, 1951, in Chakbazar, West Bengal’s Hooghly district. Ashwini Barat noticed him while he was studying at Hooghly Branch School. Surajit’s development as a player was aided by the latter. In an interview, Surajit Sengupta revealed how Ashwini babu helped him to developed his kicking ability with the left foot.
Rise to glory
He began his football career with the Khidderpore Club, which served as a springboard for several talented players such as Prasun Banerjee, Shyamal Ghosh, Goutam Sarkar, and others. Surajit rose to prominence as a result of his exceptional dribbling abilities and ability to score from difficult angles. He represented the Big 3 of Kolkata Maidan, beginning with Mohun Bagan AC, coached by Sailen Manna. From 1972 to 1974, he was a member of Mohun Bagan. After that, he joined the East Bengal Club’s formidable squad and played for them for six seasons in a row.
During the 1978 season, he was also the captain of the Red and Gold brigade. He played for East Bengal in the 1975 IFA Shield Final, where he utterly demolished the Mohun Bagan defense with his defense splitting runs. East Bengal won that match by a score of 5-0, the greatest margin of victory in the Kolkata derby. He joined Mohammedan Sporting Club in 1980. In 2018, Sengupta received the East Bengal Club’s lifetime achievement award.
Surajit Sengupta was also part of the triumphant Bengal Santosh trophy squad from 1975-78 and scored 26 goals
He made his debut for the Indian National team in 1974 against Thailand in Merdeka Cup. He was also a part of India’s campaign in the 1974 and 1978 Asian Games.
Surajit Sengupta as a columnist and Theatre Artist
After retiring from football he used to write daily columns for a Bengali newspaper. As his skill with the ball, his writing skills also used to give pleasure to our eyes. Also, his acting skills on the stage were just brilliant. Apart from all of these he was also a very good singer
We lost him on 17th February 2022 due to Covid 19 related complications. But he will remain in our hearts forever.
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