India's 1948 football Olympian Ramchandra Parab passes away

Mumbai, Aug 2 (UNI) Veteran football player Ramchandra Balaram Parab, who represented country in the 1948 London Olympics, passed away here last night.

Parab, 83, had been admitted to the St. George Hospital in South Mumbai after having problems in consuming food, hospital sources said today.

Parab is survived by three sons and a daughter.

A free-kick exponent who had a penchant of taking an attempt at the goal form 40-50 yards, Parab was one of the few players who played with boots in the barefooted Indian football team in 1948.

Parab played for Rajasthan Club in the Kolkata league and had also represented India Culture League and Dynamos in Mumbai.

Derek D' Souza, who was Parab's teammate during the Olympian's last days at 'Caltex' reminisces the elegance and skills of the player.

''He had treamendous control over the ball and would conjure up tricks out of no where. His shooting was precise and there was no one like him when it came to long-range shots,'' he said.

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