Former India footballer Parimal Dey passes away

Former India midfielder Parimal Dey, a member of the country's bronze medal winning team in the 1966 Merdeka Cup, has died after a prolonged age-related illness. He was 81.

"He was battling age-related issues for quite sometime and breathed his last at a hospital late on Wednesday," a family source said.

A highly skilful inside-left during his prime in the 1960s, Dey made five appearances for India and scored a goal in the country's bronze medal finish in the 1966 edition of the Merdeka Cup in Kuala Lumpur. That was also his only goal for India.

At the club level, Dey was a Maidan favourite for East Bengal and is best known for his 1970 IFA Shield winning goal against Iran's PAS club as a 'Super Sub'. It still stands as the fastest goal scored by a player after coming on as a substitute in the competition.

The 1966 Calcutta Football League (CFL) was a marquee tournament for Dey as he scored in each of the first nine matches. As a forward for East Bengal, he netted 84 goals and also captained the club in 1968.

Dey holds the distinction of winning both the CFL and IFA Shield thrice in 1966, 1970 and 1973. Dey also won the Durand Cup (1967, 1970), Rovers Cup (1967, 1969, 1973), among other tournaments.

For Bengal, Dey won the Santosh Trophy twice in 1962 and 1969. In 1971, he joined Mohun Bagan and won the Rovers Cup.

Fondly known as Jangla-da, Dey was born on May 4, 1941. He was conferred with the Banga Bhushan title by the Government of West Bengal in 2019.

"His death is an irreparable loss to the sports world. My sincere condolences to Parimal's family and fans," West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in her condolence message.

All India Football Federation president Kalyan Chaubey said, "He was one of the best schemers of the 1960s, and remains in the hearts and minds of the fans till date. My thoughts go out to his family."

"The entire Indian football fraternity is extremely shocked by the passing away of Parimal Dey. My condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace," AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said.