The week which went by was tinged with nostalgia for the football fraternity of Bangalore with two Olympians and one Asian Games gold medallist being felicitated at the Bangalore Football Stadium on the sidelines of the all-India BSNL football tournament.

It was a trip down the memory lane and the kind of evening that can be wrapped in pure silk in the sweet treasure box of memories for three soccer greats — Ahmed Khan, Varadaraj, and I Arumainayagam who showed that though time might have slowed their reflexes, their passion for the game remains the same.

“I should thank the authorities for arranging such a function. For someone like me, it is a great honour to share the dais with legends like Varadaraj and Ahmed Khan,” said Arumainayagam, a member of the National squad that beat South Korea in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games final.

Drawing plaudits

It was a sentiment echoed by Varadaraj, whose goalkeeping ways in the 1948 London Olympics drew plaudits even from the rival French camp. At the same Olympics, Ahmed Khan dazzled as a forward and his displays earned him the nickname the ‘Sizzling Snakecharmer.’ The duo was part of the team that represented the country at the 1952 Olympic Games as well.

“Happy to see that we are being remembered fondly. Earlier, old players never used to get the limelight,” Varadaraj said.

The 83-year-old lamented the present state of affairs of the game in the country. “These days the quality of the game has gone down considerably from what it was during our times. During our days, we were not bothered about anything other than playing. Nowadays, there is too much of emphasis on coaching. Youngsters are not willing to work hard and they want to earn quick bucks and instant fame,” said Varadaraj, who was recently honoured by the Karnataka Olympic Association for his outstanding contribution to the game.

At 67, Arumainagayagam was the youngest of the three and he could not conceal his joy. “The only occasion on which I played alongside Varadaraj was when we played the IFA Shield for Mysore XI in Kolkata in 1960. We played against the likes of Chuni Goswami. It was Varadaraj’s brilliance that helped us beat Mohd Sporting and Mohun Bagan. During that time, Kolkata dailies carried headlines which read ‘Olympian Varadaraj beats Bagan’. For me, it was a learning curve as I was the youngest in the side,” recalls Arumainagayagam who excelled as a left-winger here before moving to Kolkata, South Western Railway and later Tamil Nadu.

Past deeds

Arumainagayagam felt more such get-togethers will help in educating the people about the past deeds of our footballers.

“Nowadays, nobody knows much about the great history and heritage of Karnataka football. Among the present lot, how many will remember the fact that during 1948 London Olympics as well as 1952 Helsinki Olympics, Karnataka had six players each in the National team?” asked Arumainayagam with a tinge of sadness.

Arumainayagam’s only regret was that T Shanmugham, part of the Helsinki Olympics squad, who was also to be felicitated on that day couldn’t make it due to the death of his wife. “It would have been nice if Shanmugham too was here. In fact our playing careers never went together and it would have been great to sit with him.”