Dempo’s Rovers Cup hero Sampath no more

Panaji: Kuppuswami Sampath, hero of Dempo Sports Club’s first Rovers Cup triumph, passed away in Bengaluru early this week
Football fans remember the former India goalkeeper for his exemplary performance in the 1970 Bangkok Asian Games when India won the bronze medal. However, for fans in Goa, Sampath is the goalkeeper who guarded Dempo’s goal when the club won the Rovers Cup in 1975, a first for any team from the state.
Dempo defeated Tata SC 1-0 in the replayed final with Francis D’Souza winning a penalty in the dying minutes and K Williams converting from the spot to seal victory.
Sampath was also the first-choice goalkeeper for Goa at the National football championship for the Santosh Trophy between 1974 and 1978.
“Former India goalkeeper K Sampath’s demise comes as a big loss for Indian football,” said Kalyan Chaubey, president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). “He was one of the best goalkeepers of the 1970s and will be revered for years to come. As an upcoming goalkeeper in my younger days, I had heard of his heroics in the Asian Games, and was hugely inspired by it.”
Joining Dempo from Madras Engineering Group, Bengaluru, Sampath was the first name on the team-list for coach Joseph Rathnam.
Colleagues raved about Sampath’s grip, and his sense of positioning remained unmatched.
“Everyone in Indian football is extremely saddened on hearing about the passing away of K Sampath,” said AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran.
Born on September 15, 1947, the former India custodian represented the country in 18 matches, which included the 1970 and 1972 Merdeka Cup, 1970 Asian Games, and 1971 Pesta Sukan Cup.
His international career was one strewn with accolades. Apart from the Asian Games when India won the bronze, Sampath was also part of the India team that ended third in the 1970 Merdeka Cup and joint champions of the 1971 Pesta Sukan Cup in Singapore.
In the 1970 Asian Games, the two coaches, GMH Basha and PK Banerjee, had so much faith in him that Sampath was one of the few players in the squad who figured in all six matches India played in a span of 11 days.
His teammates still recall how Sampath made a diving save to deny a powerful shot from Japan striker Kunishige Kamamoto during the closing stages of the bronze-medal match. India eventually won by a solitary goal.