Legendary Indian footballer Chuni Goswami honoured by Indian Postal Department with a postal stamp

New Delhi: Legendary Indian footballer Chuni Goswami, who led the Indian gold medal winning team in the 1962 Asian Games, has been honoured with a postal stamp issued on his 82nd birthday by the Indian Postal Department. Goswami, who turned 82 on Wednesday, became only the third Indian footballer after Gostho Paul (1998) and Talimeren Ao (2018) on whose name a commemorative stamp has been issued by the largest postal network in the world.

Wishing former India 🇮🇳 captain, Arjuna awardee and Padma Shri Chuni Goswami a very happy 8⃣2⃣nd birthday 🎂🥳🎊@IndiaPostOffice honoured the iconic 'Chuni Da' with a postal stamp on this gracious occasion today 🙏🏻🙌🏻#BlueTigers 🐯 #BackTheBlue 💙 #IndianFootball ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/yT4jAgmp1z

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) January 15, 2020

“It was a completely unexpected gesture. I’m really humbled with this honour shown to me. It will further inspire me to live a longer life,” Goswami said after the commemorative stamp was issued in his residence in Kolkata on Wednesday. “Over the years, I have received many laurels during my sporting career. But this one at the fag-end of my life will surely be right up there,” he added. Goswami, who played in more than 40 matches for India between 1956 and 1964, was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1963 and Padma Shri in 1983. He was a member of the Indian team which finished second behind Israel in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup. He scored India’s third goal in the 3-1 win against Hong Kong en route to the final in that tournament.