KOLKATA: Pradip Choudhury, who formed the central defensive pair with Subroto Bhattacharya when Mohun Bagan took on Pele’s Cosmos team in 1977, was conferred the Mohun Bagan Ratna 2018 at the annual day of the 129-year-old club here on Sunday.
Choudhury, who got a cheque for ₹1 lakh, said he became more popular after switching from Bombay to Calcutta.
“I was a better player in Bombay, but who knew me then? I am what I am because of Mohun Bagan,” said Choudhury.
On the occasion of Mohun Bagan Day, held to commemorate the Mariners’ victory over East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1 in the IFA Shield final on July 29, 1911, Shilton Paul was given the Best Footballer for the Year award and Sudip Chatterjee was handed the Best Cricketer of the Year honour.
Sourav Das was the Best Youth Footballer. Rahim Ali received a special award for his performance for Indian team in the FIFA under-17 World Cup last year.
Several former Bagan captains were given Gold Cards, which will give them seats during the club’s matches.