Kolkata, Feb 17: Former India midfielder and East Bengal legend Surajit Sengupta, who was part of the national team that won a bronze medal in the 1970 Asian Games, died at a city hospital on Thursday following his prolonged battle with COVID-19. He was 71.
After testing positive for COVID-19, Sengupta was admitted to hospital on January 23 and was put on ventilator since last week. He had developed Covid encephalopathy and septicaemia that led to multi-organ failure.
He breathed his last this afternoon. Sengupta was part of the golden era in East Bengal when they won six successive Calcutta Football League titles (1970-1976) and the IFA Shield six times and the Durand Cup thrice.
Born on August 30, 1951, Sengupta started his football career at Kidderpore Club and went on to represent the Big Three clubs of the Kolkata Maidan. He also played for Mohun Bagan for two seasons from 1972 and in 1974. He signed up for Mohammedan Sporting in 1980 (PTI)
