Indian football lost an achiever of the highest class, in the passing away of Subhas Bhowmick, 71, in Kolkata on Saturday. A crack forward and canny coach at the Asian level is a rare combo. As a player, Bhowmick was full of  style and steel, and then brought out the best in Indian and foreign players as coach in Kolkata (East Bengal) and Goa (Churchill Brothers).

India returned with a bronze in men’s football at the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games, beating powerhouse Japan in a placings tie. The burly striker kick-started the tourney with two goals in the opener against Thailand. Some of the Mumbai-based stars in that squad, led by Syed Naeemuddin, were Amar Bahadur, Bandya Kakade, Jerry Bassi and PM Shivdas. In 2003, Bhowmick returned as Technical Director to plot EB’s triumph at the Asean Cup, a feat Indian club football is proud of. Baichung Bhutia finished as top scorer.