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

has the Army XI entered the Durand semi-finals in 1991 when
they lost 0-4 to ultimate runners-up Border Security Force
(BSF). The regimental teams, IAF and Indian Navy are now
confined to the preliminary rounds of the Durand tournament
and play before a few hundred spectators and rarely leave a
favourable impression by their participation.
In the last decade of the 20th century, the once mighty Gorkha
Brigade is a pale shadow of the conquering unit of a little over
three decades ago. In 1996, Gorkha Brigade lost 0-1 to local
legend runners-up Hindustan F.C. in the first round of the pre-
Durand tournament. In 1999, Gorkhas fared slightly better and
reached the tournament proper, the quarter-final league stage.
On their way to the quarter-finals they overcame local clubs
Shastri F.C. and Indian Nationals. Gorkha Brigade was placed
in group B along with Salgaocar F.C. Goa and F.C. Kochin.
The twice-former champions of the Durand- tournament lost
0-2 to the ultimate winners Salgaocar F.C. but salvaged some
pride by upsetting F.C Kochin 1-0 with a 30th minute penalty
kick converted by midfielder Pritam Rai. However, Gorkha
Brigade are no longer crowd-pullers. The array of talented
dig deep
players they produced in the past
are not forthcoming anymore.
In the sixties, Gorkhas produced
some of the nippiest forwards in
India’s football, the speedy striker
Bhupinder Singh Rawat, nicknamed
‘the Scooter’ by local fans, the
dazzling Shyam Thapa, famous
for his acrobatic back volleys, the
feline grace of left winger Amar
Bahadt and the industrious Ranjit
Thapa, to mention a few.
In the decade of the 1950s, Gorkha
Brigade also produced classy players
like Puran Bahadur, Mole Lahiri,
Dhan Bahadur and Siri Bahadur and
was renowned for its enthralling,
attacking football. Prolific goalscorer,
Puran Bahadur had the skill
to torment opposing defenders and the charisma to attract
large crowds. In the 1954 Durand tournament, Gorkha
Brigade was involved in one of the greatest matches in the
history of this illustrious tournament. They took on the
mighty Hyderabad City Police in a pre-quarter final tie and
led 3-0 at half-time. That year Hyderabad City Police were a
formidable unit. They had just won the Rovers Cup for the
fifth time in succession and would become the first team
in India to achieve the Durand and Rovers double crown.
The Hyderabad police changed tactics in the second half
and made a dramatic comeback. To stifle the speed of the
Gorkhas attack, the Hyderabad Police defence played upfield
to catch the opposing forwards in the offside trap. They also
used the long ball from the flanks effectively to harass the
short-statured Gorkha defenders. In a match, which old-timers
consider as one of the best ever seen on the lush green surface
of the Ambedkar stadium, Hyderabad City Police rallied to win
6-3 with their centre forward Doraiswamy scoring a hat-trick.
But it is a credit to the Gorkha Brigade for making it such an
epic encounter. They continued to play attacking, entertaining
soccer and did not resort to defensive tactics to hold on to their
lead. They may have been tactically naive, but those were
the reasons which made Gorkha Brigade a thrilling side to
watch and extremely popular amongst the fans. The Durand
organisers were sure of a near full house whenever Gorkha
Brigade played because of their enthralling attacking football
and talented players. Also the big teams of India feared Gorkha
Brigade for their giant killing feats.
Alas, how the mighty have fallen. In the Durand tournament of
the new millennium, the Gorkha Brigade has not even qualified
purple beret July 2011 27