Kolkata: Legendary Indian footballer and coach Pradip Kumar (PK) Banerjee passed away on Friday after prolonged illness.
He was under medical supervision at a nursing home. Suffering from respiratory problem due to pneumonia and with underlying history of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and heart problem, the 83-year-old was put on life support on March 2.
He was given blood transfusion on Wednesday and his condition steadily detoriated. He has passed away at around 12.40 pm.
Banerjee is survived by daughters Paula and Purna, who are renowned academicians, and younger brother Prasun Banerjee, who is a sitting Trinamool Congress MP.
Born on June 23, 1936 in Moynaguri on the outskirts of Jalpaiguri in West Bengal, Banerjee’s family relocated to his uncle’s place in Jamshedpur before partition.
The Olympian has represented India at the quadrennial event twice, in 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome editions.
Banerjee also had a gold medal from the 1962 Asian Games to his name.
While coaching, he managed the Indian national team, even leading them in the Munich Olympics in 1972. At the club level, Banerjee has coached East Bengal and Mohun Bagan with distinction.
His contributions to the game have also been recognised by FIFA when he was awarded the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.
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