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The young boy in the early years of the 1960s now stands on the doorstep of 80. But till date he doesn't know how many goals he exactly scored during his illustrious football career spanning over two decades.
When the young boy began playing club football in the early 60s, he kept a notebook in his bag. In the night after every match, the boy would meticulously note down the details of the goals he scored.
After some time, he stopped the practice. Because, in his own words, he lost count. “In my 25 years of active football career, I must have scored at least 500 goals. Now, I don’t even remember most of them,” he said.
The boy, who answers to the call of Inder Singh, is a former India captain and certainly one of the finest strikers the country has ever produced. Having spent his entire career in Punjab, Inder was a hugely popular footballer for his extraordinary skills and goalscoring ability and drew thousands to the ground whenever he set his foot on the pitch.
Like his fabulous skills, amazing was Inder's longevity in the top level football. Having started playing at the senior competitions in 1960, Inder played till 1985. There was no modernised gym, no physical trainer, no dietician. Not even a proper coaching system.
Yet, Inder’s speed, stamina and his unbelievable ability to take a quick turn and slam an accurate blinder in a flash remains part of Indian football’s folklore. He suffered several serious injuries, but always returned stronger.
“Scoring goals was my specialty. First I played for Leaders Club for 12 years. Rest of my career was spent in JCT. I used to score most of the goals for my clubs. In 1974 Santosh Trophy, Punjab scored 46 goals. I scored 23, including three against Bengal in final,” says Inder.
The gentleman footballer was born on 23rd December, 1942 in Phagwara, Punjab. He played in one Asian Games in 1966 and injury prevented him from playing the 1970 and 1974 Asian Games. He led India in the Merdeka Cup in Malaysia more than once.