Legacy
A brief collection of obituaries and condolences published on Chandrasekhar’s passing.
24 August 2021 | All India Football Federation
AIFF condoles O Chandrasekhar’s demise
NEW DELHI: The All India Football Federation (AIFF) condoles the demise of former India international and Olympian O Chandrasekhar, who passed away earlier today (August 24, 2021).
A defender, he was part of the Indian football team that took part in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. He was a member of the gold medal-winning side at the 1962 Asian Games in Jakarta and the team that finished runners-up at the AFC Asian Cup in 1964.
He has a total of 25 caps to his name and also played in the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 1959, where he made his international debut, and Merdeka Cup in 1961, among other tournaments.
At the domestic level, he represented Maharashtra in the Santosh Trophy from 1959-1965, lifting the trophy in 1963. He played for Caltex Club from the period 1958-1966 and then the State Bank of India from 1967-1972.
In his condolence message, AIFF President Mr. Praful Patel averred: “It is saddening to hear that Mr. Chandrasekhar is no more. He was a key part of one of the most successful Indian teams ever and his contribution to the sport in India can never be forgotten. I share the grief.”
AIFF General Secretary, Mr. Kushal Das stated: “Mr. Chandrasekhar has been an inspiring figure for people across generations and won many laurels through his career. I send my condolences to his family and pray for his soul to rest in peace.”
24 August 2021 | OutlookIndia.com
Olympian and 1962 Asiad winner Chandrasekhar dies
Kochi, Aug 24 (PTI) Former India footballer and Olympian O Chandrasekhar, who was part of the gold medal-winning Indian team at the 1962 Asian Games, died on Tuesday at his residence here, family sources said.
He was 85, and survived by three children.
Chandrasekhar, a defender in his playing days, was suffering from age-related ailments for some time, a source associated with the family told PTI.
He was a member of the Travancore-Cochin Santosh Trophy team and had captained the Indian team in a few tournaments.
Most notably, he was a member of the 1960 Rome Olympics Indian team besides being part of the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games.
The footballer played for India from 1958-1966. He hails from Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district.
He has a total of 25 caps to his name and also played in the Asian Cup Qualifiers in 1959, where he made his international debut, and Merdeka Cup in 1961, among other tournaments.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) condoled the demise of Chandrasekhar.
At the domestic level, he represented Maharashtra in the Santosh Trophy from 1959-1965, lifting the trophy in 1963.
He played for Caltex Club from 1958-1966 and then the State Bank of India from 1967-1972.
In his condolence message, AIFF president Praful Patel said: “It is saddening to hear that Mr. Chandrasekhar is no more. He was a key part of one of the most successful Indian teams ever and his contribution to the sport in India can never be forgotten. I share the grief.”
AIFF general secretary Kushal Das said: “Chandrasekhar has been an inspiring figure for people across generations and won many laurels through his career. I send my condolences to his family and pray for his soul to rest in peace.”
PTI RRT SS AH
24 August 2021 | The Indian Express
Former India footballer Olympian Chandrasekharan dies aged 86
Former India footballer O Chandrasekharan, popularly known as Olympian Chandrasekharan in his home state Kerala, died at the age of 86 in Kochi on Tuesday. He had been suffering from dementia for a decade or so.
Chandrasekharan, who played as a defender, was a member of the Indian team in the 1960 Rome Olympics, the last time the country participated in football at the Games. India famously held France 1-1 in a game, courtesy Chandrasekharan and his defensive partners. His death comes just days after SS Hakim, another one from that Olympics team, passed away.
Chandrasekharan was also part of Indian teams that won gold in the 1962 Asian Games, silver in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, silver in the Merdeka Tournament (1959 and 1964). He played alongside some of the greatest names in Indian football like PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Tulsidas Balaraman, Simon Sunderraj, Peter Thangaraj, Jarnail Singh, and Mariappa Kempaiah.
Born in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district, Chandrasekharan honed his football skills at Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam and went on to play for Caltex in Mumbai from 1956. After his retirement from international football in 1966, he played for the State Bank of India. He was also the captain of the Maharashtra team that won the Santosh Trophy national championship in 1963.
24 August 2021 | The Times of India
1960 Indian Olympic football team loses another pillar, Chandrasekharan dies
KOCHI: The number of living Indian Olympian footballers is dwindling by the day. Two days after the passing away of SS Hakim, India lost one of the pillars in defence of the famed 1960 Rome Olympics team, O Chandrasekharan.
The former Indian captain was suffering from dementia for quite some time. He collapsed while having lunch at home and was rushed to a private hospital in Kochi where he passed away. He was 86.
France might be the reigning world champions. But 61 years ago, the PK Banerjee-led Indian team had held a French team to a 1-1 draw at the Rome Olympics. Chandrasekharan, who played as a right-wing back, didn’t just shore up India’s defence on that day but also provided Banerjee with the pass that helped India take the lead. India went down fighting to a powerful Hungarian side 1-2 in the next game and bowed out of the Olympics with a 1-3 defeat against Peru.
“We played brilliantly against Hungary. But they were a top-quality side and got the better of us in the end. I think France was not at full strength in that tournament. I always felt that if we had played against France, the way we did against Hungary, we would have had a victory to cherish from Rome,” Chandrasekharan had reminisced about India’s Rome exploits.
Simon Sunderraj, who scored India’s last goal in the Olympics against Peru, remembers Chandrasekharan as a robust defender who was not willing to give an inch to his rivals. “He had all the traits of a good defender. But the biggest quality about Chandrasekhar was his tackles. He was good at clearing dangerous balls inside the box with his head and also possessed great speed while moving with the ball. We remained in touch till age-related ailments started to catch up with him. His demise is a big loss for Indian football,” the Thanjavur-settled Sunderraj, who also coached Kerala to its maiden Santosh Trophy triumph in 1973, told TOI.
Chandrasekharan was also part of the gold-medal winning team at the 1962 Jakarta Asia where India beat Korea in the final.
“He was a gentleman footballer. I never watched him play. But growing up, Olympians like Chandrasekharan sir and Sunderraj sir were our biggest inspirations. After he settled down in Kochi, I used to frequently visit Chandrasekharan sir and our club honoured him at a function a few years ago. I will cherish that memory,” said former international CC Jacob.
Born in Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district, Chandrasekharan’s life got hooked to the beautiful game after he moved to Maharaja’s College, Kochi, for his undergraduate course in 1953. He represented Kerala University during his college days and played for Penguins football club. He also played for the Thiru Kochi football team that played the Santosh Trophy in 1954. His talent soon got noticed and Caltex hired him for a clerical job in Mumbai when they were strengthening their football team.
It was at Caltex that Chandrasekharan’s football journey blossomed. He broke into the national squad brimming with talent in 1958 and was a regular in the team set-up till he quit in 1966. Though the Rome Olympics and the 1962 Asian Games gold medal remain the biggest achievements of his career, Chandrasekharan was an indispensable member of the Indian team that finished runners-up in the AFC Asian Cup and the Merdeka Cup tournaments in 1959 and 1964. Though a Keralite, he never represented the state in Santosh Trophy but captained Maharashtra to a title triumph in the tournament in 1963-64 season.
Though his name was Odampilly Chandrasekhara Menon, for football lovers the O in his name stood for Olympian and it will now remain one forever.
24 August 2021 | The Hindu
Olympian footballer O. Chandrasekharan passes away
He was a defender in one of India’s finest football teams in the 1960s
O. Chandrasekharan, a defender in one of India’s finest football teams ever, passed away in Kochi on Tuesday. He was 86 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
Chandrasekharan was a member of the Indian team at the 1960 Rome Olympics. That was the last time India played football at the Olympics. He was also a star of the Indian team that won the gold at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, the country’s last triumph at the Asiad.
Just before India’s match against Hungary at the Rome Olympics, the Indian hockey players had a warning for the footballers.
“Don’t concede more than 10 goals, our hockey players told us, for Hungary was the European champion then,” Chandrasekharan had told this writer during a chat a few years ago.
But India surprised everybody by giving Hungary a scare, losing narrowly 1-2. It also held France 1-1 and then lost its last league match to Peru 1-3.
Top-notch squad
Though India finished fourth in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where Neville D’souza scored a hat-trick against host Australia, legendary coach S.A. Rahim felt that the 1960 team was the best.
“Our coach S.A. Rahim always used to say that the Rome team was the best he had coached. And it had around six players who had played in the 1956 Olympics but not Neville, he was not in form then,” Chandrasekharan, who played alongside Neville in Mumbai’s Caltex team at the WIFA Harwood League, had said then as he walked down memory lane.
Santosh Trophy success
Chandrasekharan who hailed from Irinjalakuda later moved to Mumbai and was also the captain of the Maharashtra team that won the Santosh Trophy in the sixties.
A genial man, Chandrasekharan was with the State Bank of India and retired as its zonal manager.
After S.S. Narayan and S.S. Hakim, who both played in the 1960 Rome Olympic team and passed away recently, the country has lost three of its finest football stars in the space of 20 days.