Former India forward Sadatullah Khan passes away at 75

The All India Football Federation has condoled the death of former India forward Sadatullah Khan, who passed away in Bengaluru at 75. A skilful dribbler, he represented India in the 1968 Merdeka Cup and enjoyed a distinguished domestic and club career

Hyderabad: The All India Football Federation condoled the death of former India forward Sadatullah Khan, who passed away in Bengaluru after a brief illness on Tuesday. He was 75.

A genial dribbler par excellence, Sadatullah was a tough-tackling forward for whom no defence held any terror. He had the ability to cut in and out or produce the half turn or full turn with the ball glued to his feet. Once in control, it was tough for anyone to snatch it away.

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With such abilities, Sadatullah represented India at the international level during the 1968 Merdeka Cup. He made his senior national team debut against Malaysia on August 11, 1968, in Kuala Lumpur, and went on to earn five caps, scoring three goals (two against South Vietnam and one versus Burma), all in the 1968 Merdeka Cup.

At the domestic level, Sadatullah represented Mysore in the Santosh Trophy in 1965 and 1966. At the club level, he enjoyed a distinguished career with several leading teams.

With Mohammedan Sporting, Sadatullah won the Calcutta Football League in 1967 and was widely regarded as the architect of the title-winning campaign. He also won the Stafford Cup (1970) and the Bordoloi Trophy (1970) with the Black and White Brigade. In 1969, he turned out for East Bengal and was part of the team that won the IFA Shield that year.

He later represented ITI, Bangalore, in 1971 and 1972. The All India Football Federation joins the Indian football fraternity in mourning the loss of Sadatullah Khan and honours his contributions to Indian football.