Early Life
Chandrasekhar was born on July 10, 1935 to Odampilly Meenakshi Amma and Valloth Raman Menon, in Irinjalakuda, a town in Thrissur district, Kerala, India.
He honed his football skills at Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam. During his college days, he represented Kerala University, and played for Penguins Football Club. His talent drew the attention of Caltex, and he was soon hired by the club to strengthen its defensive line.
Career
Club & National Championships
Chandrasekhar represented Caltex, Bombay from 1956-1966, during which time he also played for Maharashtra in the Santosh Trophy, India’s top domestic football championship.
Within just a couple of years of joining Caltex, Chandrasekhar was inducted into India’s national squad, under legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim during the golden age of Indian football.
He left the national squad in 1966, taking a job with State Bank of India, for which he played from 1966-1973.
International Career
Chandrasekhar was a member of India’s national football team during the 1960 Rome Olympics, where India famously held France to a 1-1 draw in their group match, courtesy Chandrasekhar and his defensive partners. He was also part of the Indian teams that won gold in the 1962 Asian Games, silver in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, and two silver medals in the Merdeka Tournament (1959 and 1964).
Club Management
Chandrasekhar served as the General Manager of FC Kochin from 1994-1995.
He played alongside some of the greatest names in Indian football like PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Tulsidas Balaram, Peter Thangaraj, Jarnail Singh, and Mariappa Kempaiah. He also captained India in a few tournaments.
Post Retirement Years
Chandrasekhar played for India during what is known as the golden age of Indian football. After hanging up his football cleats in 1973, he continued to work for State Bank of India in Ernakulam until his retirement as Asst. General Manager.
Chandrasekhar breathed his last on August 24, 2021 in Kochi, Kerala, India. He was 86 years old, and had been suffering from age related ailments since 2015. At his passing, numerous media outlets, national as well as international, published condolences and extolled his illustrious career.
He is survived by his wife and three children.
Honours
International
Olympics – 1960 – Rome, Italy
Asian Games – 1962 – Jakartha, Indonesia – Gold Medal
AFC Asian Cup – 1964 – Tel Avivi, Israel – Silver Medal
Merdeka cup – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Silver Medal (1959, 1964)
Olympics – 1964 – Tokyo, Japan Qualifiers
Domestic
National Championship – Santosh Trophy – 1963 – Tournament Champion (1963) – Captain of the team
Personal
Selected in Kerala’s all-time dream team (football)
Selected as Kerala’s top-10 Sportspersons of the Century