Shimla-the birthplace of the Durand Cup and the Indian Air Force ...

Decline of Regimental teams in the
Durand Tournament
By Novy Kapadia
Going down memory lane, it is interesting to note that
from 1888-1940 British regimental teams held sway
in the Durand tournament. The first civilian team to
contest the final was the East India Railways in 1927.
The East India Railways team consisted entirely of Indian
players. Assisted by stalwarts like Samad, Rabi Ganguly,
P. Bhowmickand and B. Das, the Railway team went down
gallantly to the York and Lancashire Regiment by 0-2 in the final.
Young Men of Delhi once reached the semi-finals as did Aryans
Club of Calcutta in 1936. The first team to break the monopoly
of British regimental teams was the mighty Mohammedan
Sporting when they beat the Royal Warwickshire Regiment 2-1
in the final, with goals by centre forward Hafiz Rashid and the
slick inside left Saboo.
A new era began when the tournament was revived in New
Delhi, the capital of independent India. Civilian teams now
started dominating the Durand tournament. Hyderabad City
Police won in 1950 and 1954, East Bengal in 1951 and 1952
and Mohun Bagan in 1953. Regimental teams of the Indian
Army were getting pipped at the post but not totally eclipsed
as is happening nowadays. In both 1955 and 1958, the final
was contested between two teams from the Services. In 1955
Madras Regimental Centre (MRC) Wellington annexed the
Durand tournament for the first time, beating Indian Air Force
26 July 2011 purple beret
3-2 in the replayed final. The match on the first day ended in
a goal less draw. D’Cruz, Alfonso and Alwyn scored for the
winners. In 1958 for the first time since Independence the final
was contested between two regimental sides. MRC Wellington,
with mighty goalkeeper Peter Thangaraj in their ranks ousted
spirited Gorkha Brigade 2-0 in the final with Mukundan and
Abu Backer scoring the goals.
Till the end of the sixties, regimental teams were a force to
reckon with in the Durand tournament. Gorkha Brigade twice
emerged winners in 1966 and 1969. In 1966 in an all regimental
team final, Gorkha Brigade beat Sikh Regimental Centre
(SRC) 2-0 in the final. Then three years later, inspired by the
mercurial Shyam Singh Thapa they beat BSF 1 -0 in the final
to lift the trophy for the second time. After that it has been
downhill all the way. No team from the Services has entered
the Durand final since then. Indian Air Force (IAF) sparkled
briefly in the late seventies, with their excellent forwards Subir
Sarkar and Unni and playmaker Paul Raj. The Services Sports
Control Board (SSCB), alarmed at declining standards, started
the concept of the Army XI, a select team drawn from different
regiments which competed in various tournaments. Somehow
this concept has not taken off. Army XI is neither as charismatic
nor as feared as the regimental teams like Gorkha Brigade, MRC
Wellington or MEG Bangalore of yore. In the nineties only once