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Ranjit Das
Ranjit in 1955
Personal information
Date of birth (1932-10-29) 29 October 1932 (age 92)[1]
Place of birth Sylhet, Bengal, British India (present-day Bangladesh)
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955 Ispahani Club
1956–1958 Azad Sporting Club
1958–1959 Dhaka Mohammedan
1960–1964 Azad Sporting Club
International career
1955–1962 East Pakistan
Managerial career
1968 East Pakistan Youth
– Azad Sporting Club
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ranjit Das (Bengali: রণজিৎ দাস; born 29 October 1932) is a former Bangladeshi football player and coach. He represented the East Pakistan football team from 1955 to 1962, and also served as captain of the team.

Early life

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Ranjit Das was born on 29 October 1932 in Sylhet, British India, the fifth and youngest child of Kamala Kant Das and Vasantilata Das.[2] In 1947, he got an opportunity to play cricket for Town Club. Nonetheless, his cricket career ended following the 1947 Sylhet referendum, as a large part of the elite body who managed cricket moved to India.[3]

Club career

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Early career

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On 7 August 1954, Ranjit represented Town Club in the final of a local tournament against United Friends Club in Habiganj. His team won the game 1–0, with Ranjit's performance against the opposing team's striker, Balai Das, a member of the East Pakistan football team, standing out. Following the game, he was offered a position to play for Merchant Club and crossed the border to Agartala, where his team tied goalless in an exhibition game against hosts Birendra Club. This game was observed by S. D. Burman, who later praised Ranjit's performance. In 1955, East Bengal Club from Kolkata played an invitational match in Comilla. Ranjit, representing the hosts, Comilla XI, kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory. In the same year, he represented Ispahani Club in the Dhaka First Division League and played four games before the league was suspended due to a flood.[3]

Azad Sporting Club

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Ranjit (sitting third from the left) with Azad Sporting Club, champions of the 1958 Dhaka First Division League

In 1956, Ranjit joined Azad Sporting Club, a team that was composed entirely of Bengali players at the time. He captained the team in both 1957 and 1958, and during the latter year, he led them to their sole First Division title. The team, which included notable players such as S. A. Jamman Mukta, Tajul Islam Manna, Khandoker Abul Hasan, and other representatives of the East Pakistan football team, managed to outperform traditional giants Dhaka Mohammedan and Dhaka Wanderers. They secured the league title with a 3–2 victory in the play-off game against Central Station & Printing Press.[3]

Dhaka Mohammedan

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In 1958, Ranjit represented Dhaka Mohammedan at the IFA Shield in Kolkata. The team reached the quarter-finals but eventually lost 0–3 to Kolkata Mohammedan. Nonetheless, due to his impressive performances, he was acquired as a guest player by the Kolkata-based side for the Durand Cup held in Delhi. Prior to that, Ranjit had represented Tripura XI in the IFA Shield. In 1959, he was part of the Dhaka Mohammedan team, which won both the First Division and Aga Khan Gold Cup title.[4][5]

Retirement

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In 1960, Ranjit returned to Azad Sporting Club. He represented the club in the Aga Khan Gold Cup that same year and went on to spend the following four years as a player-cum-coach. In 1963 and 1964, Ranjit coached Khandoker Mohammad Nurunnabi, who became the club's first-choice goalkeeper, overtaking his spot.[4]

International career

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Ranjit (standing fourth from right in the front row) with East Pakistan at the 1955 National Championship

Ranjit first represented the East Pakistan football team at the sixth National Football Championship held in Bahawalpur. His team exited the tournament from the quarter-finals after suffering a 1–3 defeat to Baluchistan on 21 November 1955.[6] He was also an integral part of the East Pakistan Whites, the eventual runners-up at the eighth National Football Championship held in Dhaka. The team captained by Mari Chowdhury, lost the final 1–2 to Punjab on 10 November 1957.[7]

On 15 December 1957, Ranjit represented East Pakistan Sports Federation XI in an exhibition match against Kolkata Mohammedan in Dhaka. He produced a man of the match performance in a 1–1 draw, denying the likes of Abid Ghazi and Mohammed Rahmatullah on numerous occasions.[8] On 5 April 1958, Ranjit was among six players from East Pakistan selected by the PFF for a training camp in preparation for the Tokyo Asian Games.[9] Nonetheless, he failed to make the final squad.

In the ninth National Football Championship held in Multan, the East Pakistan team was knocked out by Punjab Reds, the junior team of defending champions Punjab. In the game held on 15 November 1958, East Pakistan lost 1–3, with vice-captain Ranjit's lack of height being blamed for conceding the first two goals.[10] In the tenth National Football Championship held in Hyderabad, East Pakistan lost the final to Baluchistan on 7 November 1959. Ranjit was again blamed for the team's defeat, misjudging an aerial clearance that ended up being the only goal scored in the game.[11]

Ranjit was made second choice goalkeeper to Siddique at the eleventh National Football Championship held in Karachi. The team eventually went on to win their maiden title by defeating Karachi White 1–0 in the final held on 27 November 1960. Ranjit later represented East Pakistan XI in an exhibition game against the touring Burma national team in Chittagong on 25 January 1961. The game ended in a 1–9 defeat, with winger Liton scoring the home team's only goal.[12]

Coaching career

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In 1968, Ranjit coached the East Pakistan Youth football team to a runners-up place in the Pakistan National Youth Football Championship (East Zone). In the final held at Mymensingh Stadium, his team lost 0–1 to East Pakistan Combined University. He also served as the head coach of Azad Sporting Club in the 1970s.[3][13]

Post-retirement

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Following the foundation of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) on 15 July 1972, Ranjit was elected as its Joint Secretary. He played a major role in selecting the first Bangladesh national football team in 1973, alongside Nabi Chowdhury, Sheikh Shaheb Ali and Manzur Hasan Mintu. In 1981, he was again nominated as a member of the federation's executive committee.[3][14]

Honours

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Azad Sporting Club

Dhaka Mohammedan

East Pakistan

Individual

Hockey career

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Ranjit joined the National Bank of Pakistan as an officer in 1959. He also played as a goalkeeper for the bank's field hockey team and won the Dhaka First Division League in both 1963 and 1965. In 1967, he got a chance to play for the East Pakistan hockey team and was eventually appointed as the team's captain the following year. He represented the team in the Pakistan National Hockey Championship. Ranijit retired from the game after representing the Sylhet hockey team in 1979.[3][17]

References

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  1. ^ "How is Sylhet's 'Telegram age' goalkeeper Ranjit Das doing". en.prothomalo.com. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "পঞ্চাশ ও ষাটের দশকের সেরা গোলকিপার রণজিৎ দাস এখন যেমন আছেন". news24bd.tv (in Bengali). 1 April 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "শচীন দেব বর্মণ যেন বিশ্বসেরা গোলরক্ষক দেখেছিলেন". shokalshondha.com (in Bengali). 7 March 2024. Archived from the original on 21 August 2024. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b "রণজিৎ দাসের বাড়িতে এক বেলা". en.prothomalo.com (in Bengali). 18 September 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Thursday 24 September 1959". p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Tuesday 22 November 1955". p. 6. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Organisers wake up". archive.thedailystar.net. Archived from the original on August 8, 2023.
  8. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Monday 16 December 1957". p. 10. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 06 April 1958". p. 11. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 16 November 1958". p. 11. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Sunday 08 November 1959". p. 4. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ "Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) - Thursday 26 January 1961". p. 8. Retrieved 2024-08-21 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. ^ "ফুটবলার ইকবালের স্বপ্ন ভেঙেছে একটি রাফ টেকলিং". Ctgsangbad (in Bengali). 6 July 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  14. ^ "সেদিন লাল-সবুজ পতাকা উড়িয়েছিল ফুটবল". Kalerkantho (in Bengali). 26 July 2020. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  15. ^ "CA to hand over Sports Awards today", The Daily Star, 8 April 2008, retrieved 21 August 2024
  16. ^ Sadi, Al Musabbir (13 January 2007), "Glamour lights up sports:Grameenphone-Prothom Alo crown Nafees", The Daily Star, retrieved 21 August 2024
  17. ^ "BSWA honours Ranjit in Sylhet". The Daily Star. 18 May 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Alam, Masud (2017). ফুটবলের গল্প ফুটবলারদের গল্প (transl. The story of football the story of footballers) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 9789849134688.
  • Mahmud, Dulal (2014). পাকিস্তান জাতীয় দল বাঙালি খেলোয়াড় (transl. Bengali players in the Pakistan national team) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon.
  • Mahmud, Dulal (2020). খেলার মাঠে মুক্তিযুদ্ধ (transl. Liberation war in the playground) (in Bengali). Bishhoshahitto Bhobon. ISBN 978-984-8218-31-0.
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