Havildar Havildar or havaldar ( Hindustani: or (Devanagari), (Perso-Arabic)) is a rank in the Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese armies, equivalent to sergeant. It is not used in cavalry units, where the equivalent is daffadar. Like a British sergeant, ...

Peter Thangaraj (24 December 1935 – 24 November 2008) was an Indian football player and a non-commissioned officer in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. Thangaraj played for the Indian national side at the 1956

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and 1960

Rome Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

. He was voted Asia's best

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

in 1958. Thangaraj was a recipient of Arjuna Award for the year 1967. Thangaraj played domestic club football for both the

Calcutta Football League The Calcutta Football League (CFL) is a ladder-based football competition in the Indian state of West Bengal, organised by Indian Football Association (WB), under state football leagues in India. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is offi ...

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 The Durand Football Tournament, commonly known as Durand Cup, is an annual domestic football competition in India which was first held in 1888 in Shimla. Hosted by the Durand Football Tournament Society (DFTS) and All India Football Federation ...

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 Mohun Bagan Athletic Club is an Indian professional sports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal. Founded in 1889, its football section is one of the oldest in India and Asia. The club is most notable for its victory over East Yorkshire Regiment ...

(1963–65), and

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

(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 Subimal "Chuni" Goswami (15 January 1938 – 30 April 2020) was an Indian professional footballer and first-class cricketer. As footballer, he played as a striker or winger, captained both the Mohun Bagan club and the Indian national te ...

and

P. K. Banerjee Pradip Kumar Banerjee (23 June 1936 – 20 March 2020) was an Indian professional footballer who played as a striker for the India national football team. He also captained the national team and later on became the coach of the national ...

, 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 Quadrangular Tournament held at

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

in 1955. Under the coaching of

Syed Abdul Rahim Syed Abdul Rahim (17 August 1909 – 11 June 1963), popularly known as Rahim Saab, was an Indian football coach and manager of the Indian national team from 1950 until his death in 1963, and a former player. He is regarded as the architect of ...

, he played for India both at the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

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 Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

tournament held at

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

from 1958 to 1966. He also represented India at the 1964 and 1966 Asian Cup 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: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

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 The Goa Professional League (abbreviated as GPL, also known as the Selvel Goa Pro League for sponsorship reasons) is the premier state-level football league in Goa, India. It is organised by the Goa Football Association. History The official ...

side

Vasco SC Vasco may refer to: * Basque language, called ''vasco'' in Spanish * ''Vasco'' (album), a two-part EP by Ricardo Villalobos * Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer * Vasco da Gama, Goa, a city in India, often called simply Vasco * Club de Regatas ...

until 1975 and Bokaro Steel Plant team from 1976 to 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 Lev Ivanovich Yashin (russian: Лев Иванович Яшин; 22 October 1929 – 20 March 1990), nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", was a Soviet professional footballer regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the h ...

, and was later appointed as advisor of the football department/division of

Bokaro Steel Plant Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) is located in the Bokaro district of Jharkhand. It is the fourth integrated public sector steel plant in India built with Soviet help. It was incorporated as a limited company in 1964. It was later merged with the state ...

. He died in Bokaro (now in Jharkhand), on 24 November 2008 after a massive heart-attack. Legendary strikers of India,

and

often credited his long kicks as source of some of their best goals in career.

Honours

India * Asian Games Gold medal:

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

* AFC Asian Cup runners-up:

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

Colombo Cup The Colombo Cup was an annual football tournament first held in Colombo, Ceylon. It was also known as Asian Quadrangular Football Tournament. Established in 1952 by the Ceylon Football Association as a part of the Colombo Fair, teams from India, Pa ...

: 1955 *

Merdeka Tournament Merdeka Tournament or Pestabola Merdeka is a friendly football tournament held in Malaysia to commemorate the Independence Day. The competition bears the Malay word for independence. As of 2022, it has been held 40 times, and decreasingly in ...

runner-up:

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

; third-place: 1966 Madras Regimental Centre *

: 1955, 1958 Mohun Bagan *

: 1963, 1964, 1965 *

: 1963, 1964, 1965 East Bengal *

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

: 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

References

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 SG 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