T. Abdul Rahman ( ml, ടി. അബ്ദുല്‍ റഹ്‌മാന്‍) (1934 – 15 December 2002), also known as Olympian Rahman, was an Indian

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

from

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. His playing position was defender. Rahman was a member of the Indian team that reached the semi-final in

1956 Melbourne Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

Career

Rahman was born in Kozhikode. He began his club career in the early 1950s by playing for local clubs in

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

. He went on to play for many leading football clubs in India including Rajasthan Club and

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 ...

Club of Kolkata. He spearheaded the Mohun Bagan defense during the 1950s and the 1960s and was the captain of the Kolkata club.

Career

As a child, Rahaman was always fascinated with football and stopped his studies as early as the 4th grade to fulfill his dreams of becoming a footballer. He was selected in the team of Independence Sports club, Kozhikode and later joined the Universal Club. He became the star of Malabar football during that period. In 1954, he represented the Malabar team which reached the semi-finals of the Rovers Cup in 1954. 19-year-old Rahaman marked his debut for the country against Russia in 1955 at Thiruvananthapuram. The call up to Team India was yet again rewarded with a transfer to the erstwhile Rajasthan Club and he also went on to play for Mohun Bagan in 1959. Rahman spearheaded the Bagan defence during the early 60s and also captained the Kolkata giants. Rahaman represented Bengal in the Santosh Trophy National Football Championship 9 times between 1955 and 1966. He helped the team win 4 titles during this span. He also captained Bangalore to win Santosh Trophy in 1962. The Indian football team which represented the country in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics also featured Rahaman. The team reached the semi finals and even beat the hosts 4-2 en route to the semi-finals. Rahaman was forced to miss the next Olympics at Rome in 1960 due to an injury. Rahaman retired from the game on 10 November 1967. In the later stages of his life, he coached the giants of football like Mohammedan Sporting, Premier Tyres and Travancore Titanium. He died on 15 December 2002 at the age of 69.

Olympian Rahman Memorial Academy of Football

Rahman died on 15 December 2002 in Calicut at the age of 68. After his death the football lovers of Kozhikode asked for the establishment of a sports academy in his honour. In 2005 the Kozhikode District Football Association (KDFA) duly created the academy. The aim of the ''Olympian Rehman Memorial Academy of Football'' is to promote young talent in Kerala especially in the

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

region. Mathrubhumi news daily published his playing memories in their Sunday supplement namely "Memories in playgrounds" i.e.കളിക്കളത്തിലെ ഓർമ്മകൾ".

Honours

India *

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 r ...

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rahman, T. Abdul Indian footballers Indian Muslims Olympic footballers of India Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics India international footballers Malayali people 1934 births 2002 deaths Footballers from Kerala People from Kozhikode district Association football defenders Mohun Bagan AC players Calcutta Football League players