Kolkata: Ashok Kumar, a key member of India’s 1975 World Cup-winning hockey team, will be conferred with the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ by Mohun Bagan. The honour will be bestowed on Ashok Kumar on the occasion of Mohun Bagan’s foundation day. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the award will be handed over in a virtual ceremony.
Official statement
“We will record the presentation of the award. Also their individual messages which would be shared on our social media platforms. This would certainly make the fans happy,” Mohun Bagan general secretary Srinjoy Bose said in a statement.
Incidentally Kumar is the son of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand. He scored an important goal in the gold medal match for India against Pakistan in the 1975 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur.
Sterling career record
Besides the 1975 gold, the 70-year-old Kumar had also won bronze (1971) and silver (1973) medals in World Cups. He also was a member of the Indian hockey team that won bronze in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Kumar, played for Mohun Bagan in the late 1960s and also represented Bengal before getting selected in the Indian hockey team. He also won three consecutive silver medals in the Asian Games (1970, 1974 and 1978).
Mohun Bagan Day
Mohun Bagan Day is celebrated every year on July 29 to commemorate their IFA Shield triumph in 1911. It was the day they defeated East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 to win the IFA Shield. They became the first Indian club to end the British stranglehold on football in India.
“Due the current circumstances the club executive committee decided not to celebrate the occasion by organising a physical programme,” Bose said. The awards would be presented personally to those who are available in Kolkata. The awardees who are unable to receive the honour due to their unavailability would be presented at a later stage. We will wait for things to turn normal after which we present the awards,” added Bose.
Other winners
This year’s Mohun Bagan Ratna would be presented to Gurbux Singh (hockey) and Palash Nandi (cricket), the club stated in the release.