Football lovers of the city on Friday gave a tearful adieu to international player P Vijay Kumar. Fifty-eight-year Kumar who was senior Tata Football Academy coach and former international footballer died of cardiac arrest here on Thursday.
Kumar (58), who was appointed coach of TFA in 1996, complained of uneasiness at around 3.30 AM. When he was taken to Tata Main Hospital, the doctors declared him brought dead. He is survived by his wife and a daughter. Kumar’s body was brought to TFA campus afternoon before his last journey to Parvati crematorium.
Meanwhile former cadets of TFA Gurprit Singh, Subodh Kumar, Sanjay Balmuchu and Krishna Das arrived in the city this morning after they heard the news of sad demise.
“ I am in state of shock. We learnt the nuances of football from him. I was in regular touch with him over the phone and took tips from him.,” said East Bengal mid-fielder Subodh, a 2010 cadet of TFA.
Gurprit, who graduated in 2004 and is employed with the Railways, said: “I feel sad with his demise. He will always remain in my heart,” said the former East Bengal forward.
Kumar assisted TFA in producing producing as many as 178 footballers for the country during his two-decade stint at the soccer cradle.
Kumar, a midfielder in his hay days, had donned India colours for four years (1986-89). He was part of the national squad in the SAF Games in Kolkata in 1987, besides turning out in three Nehru Cup matches (1987-89) in Calicut, Kolkata and Siliguri. Kumar also played for the country in the Asia Cup (Singapore) in 1988.
Born and brought up in Jamshedpur, Kumar joined Tata Steel in 1977. He originally hailed from Hyderabad. The former international player was a pillar of strength when it comes to the TFA. He has been instrumental in shaping careers of several cadets, who are now with various professional football clubs.
Kumar was also graced with the title of ‘Best Coach’ for the Syed Rahim Trophy, during the 114th IFA Shield Football Tournament, held from August 9 to 12 September 2009. This title has been introduced by the Indian Football Association (IFA) in memory of former India coach, Abdul Rahim.
A three member committee with Gautam Sarkar as chairman, Manas Bhattacharya and Sudhir Karmakar as member, came to this conclusion, on the basis of the fact that TFA had emerged as the cluster champion in the league tournament and Kumar had achieved this feat only with his dedicated group of U-19 players.
This added to Kumar’s numerous achievements as an able sportsperson. Besides qualifying for Groups A, B and C of the AFC license Course, Kumar takes pride in representing India in several football matches, the Santosh trophy, the Nehru Cup, the SAF Games and the Pre World Cup Qualifying match, being some of them.