Indian football stalwarts of 1960 Olympics insulted

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: At a time when Indian Sports Minister Ajay Maken has expressed his desire to take Indian football back to its glorious past, the members of 1960 Olympics football team were insulted on Wednesday at a felicitation ceremony in New Delhi. Immediately after handing over them a cheque of Rs 1.5 lakh each, the team members were asked to pay for their dinner at the International Youth Hostel. The incident shocked and infuriated the sportspersons who brought many laurels for the country in 1950s and 60s. Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports Ajay Maken, who himself was present on the felicitation ceremony, apologized on Thursday after learning about the shabby treatment meted out to the former stalwarts. "I apologise to the football team members who had to pay for their food after the felicitation ceremony," said Maken. The members of the 1960 team -- captain PK Banerjee, Tulsidas Balaram, Chunni Goswami, Arun Lal Ghosh, S Narayanan, O Chandrashekhar, SS Hakim, Fortunata A Franco, SH Hamid, Simon Sunder Raj and the wives of late Peter Thanga Raj and D Kannan -- were presented with a silver plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1.5 lakh each on the occasion.