Sahu Mewalal

Sahu Mewalal

Personal information
Date of birth	1 July 1926(1926-07-01)
Place of birth	Daulatapur, Bihar, British India
Date of death	December 27, 2008(2008-12-27) (at the age of 82)
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1938–?	Khiddirpore Club	?	(?)
1945–1946	Aryans Club	?	(?)
1946–1947	Mohun Bagan	?	(?)
1947–1955	Eastern Railway Club	?	(?)
1955–1958	BNR	?	(?)
National team
1948 – ?	India	?	(?)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Sahu Mewalal (1 July 1926 – 27 December 2008) was an Indian Olympian footballer who plied his trade at Kolkata (then Calcutta). His playing position was striker and he was known for his excellent fitness, bicycle kicks and goal scoring abilities.^[1]

Personal life

Mewalal was born on 1 July 1926 at Daulatapur of Gaya District in Bihar. As a child, he shifted to Kolkata with his father who was an employee at the Fort William.^[2] who spent the rest of his life in Kolkata and worked with the railways . At the age of 18 he married Laxmi Devi Lal and had two children Kishan Lal and Gauri Devi . At the age of 60 his ba luck started after his daughter in law 's death. In 2008 he got pneumonia his grandson Vevik Lal took him to SSKM Hospital Kolkata his addmison was at first refused but his area's councelor Faiyaz Ahmed Khan paid his admison. He died that November.

Club career

Mewalal started his club career in 1938 with Khiddirpore Club which was then playing in the 2nd Division of Calcutta Football League.^[2] He came in to the limelight in 1944 when he scored the winning goal for the IFA XI against India XI.^[1] In 1945, he joined the 1st Division club Aryans. It was his hattrick for Aryans in the same year against Mohun Bagan in a Calcutta league match that impressed the then Mohun Bagan captain Sailen Manna and in 1946 he joined Mohun Bagan under Manna. In 1947 he joined the Eastern Railway Football Club. After spending 8 years with them, he joined BNR Football Club.^[1] In 1958, while playing in an Inter-Railway tournament in Kharagpur his knee was broken. This incident brought an end to Mewalal’s illustrious 20-year career.^[2]

During his club career, he scored more than 150 goals in the local league. He also scored 39 goals for Bengal in Santosh Trophy including five hattricks. Mewalal was the top-scorer in the Calcutta Football League on four occasions. He achieved this feat in 1949, 1951 & 1954 for Eastern Railways and in 1958 for BNR. He also scored a record of 32 hattricks in local fottbal tournaments which record stands even today.^[2]

International career

Mewalal represented India at the 1948 London Olympics and 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He also toured several European countries in the late 1940s as part of the Indian team. He also played for India in their tours of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Thailand in the 1950s.^[1]

Mewalal is best remembered in the international arena as the architect of Indian Gold medal winning effort in the 1951 Delhi Asian Games. He scored in all the matches of the tournament for India and also scored the winning goal in India's 1-0 victory over Iran in the final.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Goal.com
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} The Telegraph, India

External links

• Sahu Mewalal – FIFA competition record

Persondata
Name	Mewalal, Sahu
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1 July 1926
Place of birth	Daulatapur, Bihar, British India
Date of death	27 December 2008
Place of death