Playing career

In 1950s he played in midfield for East Bengal. He also represented India in the 1954 Asian Games

1954 Asian Games

The 1954 Asian Games was a mult-sport event celebrated in Manila, Philippines from May 1 to May 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Committees competed in 76 events from eight sports...

 at Manila

Manila

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

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Coaching career

After retirement as a player he went to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 for a one-year FA

The Football Association

The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...

 coaching course, where he was taught by the renowned Walter Winterbottom.On returning to India his first major assignment was to coach Railways in 1960 for the Santosh trophy. His first assignment with a big club was in 1963 with East Bengal midway through the Calcutta league

Calcutta Football League

Calcutta Football League is the football league where several football clubs of the Indian city of Kolkata participate. The CFL is now having a Seven League Division....

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He remained as coach with East Bengal in 1964 but a year later, he took the first of several bold steps in his chequered career. He quit the security of his
job in the Indian Railways

Indian Railways

Indian Railways , abbreviated as IR , is a departmental undertaking of Government of India, which owns and operates most of India's rail transport. It is overseen by the Ministry of Railways of the Government of India....

 and opted to become a full time football coach, the first-ever in India and a feat for which he has received little recognition.

In the early 1960s he retired from the Indian Railways to become a full-time coach, a bold step in the amateur football scene of that time in India. Thus he is known as the first professional coach of India . In his long coaching career he was associated with premier football clubs of India, and also became coach of India

India national football team

The Indian national football team is the national football team of India and is governed by the All India Football Federation. It is a member of the Asian Football Confederation. Since 1948, the AIFF has been affiliated with FIFA, the international governing body for football. In 1954, AIFF became...

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He is renowned for his bold and innovative tactics and formation.