Sheoo Mewalal (also known as Sahu Mewalal; 1 July 1926 – 27 December 2008) was an Indian footballer in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. 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, 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 d ...

s, and goal-scoring abilities, especially using the

rabona In association football, the rabona is the technique of kicking the football where the kicking leg is crossed behind the back of the standing leg. There are several reasons why a player might opt to strike the ball this way: for example, a right ...

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 head ...

(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. Th ...

) in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, 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 large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

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 ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

in Santosh Trophy 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 part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

in final. Managed by

Balaidas Chatterjee Balaidas Chatterjee (10 March 1900 – 1974) was a former Indian football player and was the first head coach the India national football team during the 1948 Summer Olympics. During his playing days, Chatterjee played for Mohun Bagan in variou ...

, 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 Kidderpore SC is an Indian professional multi-sports club based in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal. Its association football team competes in the Calcutta Football League Premier Division A, alongside taking part in IFA Shield. They also have ...

which was then playing in the 2nd Division of 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 ...

. He came into the limelight in 1944 when he scored the winning goal for the

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Ac ...

XI against India XI. In 1945, he joined the 1st Division club

Aryans Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...

, 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 wic ...

for Aryans in the same year against Mohun Bagan A.C. 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 planned urban agglomeration and a major industrial city in Paschim Medinipur district of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of the Kharagpur subdivision. It is the largest, most populated, multicultural and cosmopol ...

, 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 Santosh Trophy 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 Indian national team, Mewalal's first major tournament was the

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

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Following the Olympics, the

Talimeren Ao Talimeren Ao (28 January 1918 – 13 September 1998) was an Indian 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. One of the most famous ...

led team played exhibition games, winning a game against the Dutch club

AFC Ajax Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or simply Ajax, is a Dutch professional football club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. Historically, Ajax (named after the l ...

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 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 ...

, became one of the best teams in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. In March 1951, at the inaugural

1951 Asian Games The 1951 Asian Games ( hi, 1951 एशियाई खेल; Marathi: १९५१ आशियाई खेळ), officially known as the First Asian Games, was a multi-sport event celebrated in New Delhi, India from 4 to 11 March 1951. The Ga ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, 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, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

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 ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...

. 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 eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

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, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in the 1952 Colombo Quadrangular Tournament.

Managerial career

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

India national football team The India national football team represents India in international football and is governed by the All India Football Federation (AIFF). The team is affiliated to FIFA and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Indian team, which was once cons ...

and guided them achieving third place in 1977 King's Cup.

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 inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. 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 mi ...

, he was again admitted on 8 December and was operated upon on 19 December, after which he was placed on a

liquid diet A liquid diet is a diet that mostly consists of liquids, or soft "foods" that melt at room temperature (such as ice cream). A liquid diet usually helps provide sufficient hydration, helps maintain electrolyte balance, and is often prescribed fo ...

. He died on 27 December.

Honours

Player

India * Asian Games 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 United ...

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 ...

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

, 1955 Mohun Bagan *

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 ...

: 1947 Bengal * Santosh Trophy: 1950–51, 1953–54 Aryan *

runner-up: 1956 Individual * Asian Games top scorer:

top scorer: 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958

Manager

India * King's Cup third place:

1977 Events January * January 8 – 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 (now the Democrat ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mewalal, Sahu Indian footballers Olympic footballers of 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 AC players Aryan FC players India 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 Association football forwards Indian football managers India national football team managers Calcutta Football League players