O. Chandrashekar

O. Chandrasekhar Menon (10 July 1935 – 24 August 2021) was an Indian professional footballer who played as a defender. He represented India at the 1960 Summer Olympics (Rome), the 1962 Asian Games (Gold medal), 1964 AFC Asian Cup (Silver medal), Merdeka Tournament (Silver Medal - 1959 & 1964) and 1964 Summer Olympics (Tokyo Qualifiers).

Early life
Born in Irinjalakuda (India), Chandrasekhar honed his football skills at Maharaja's College in Ernakulam (India).

Club career

 * Caltex, Bombay: 1956–1966
 * State Bank of India: 1966–1973

National championship (Santosh trophy)

 * Maharashtra: 1956–1966

International career
He was a member of the Indian team in the 1960 Rome Olympics, where India famously held France 1–1 in a game, courtesy of Chandrasekhar and his defensive partners. He was also part of Indian teams that won gold in the 1962 Asian Games, silver in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, silver in the Merdeka Tournament (1959 and 1964). He played alongside some of the greatest names in Indian football like PK Banerjee, Chuni Goswami, Tulsidas Balaram, Peter Thangaraj, Jarnail Singh, and Mariappa Kempaiah, under coaching of Syed Abdul Rahim. He also captained India in few tournaments.

Manager career

 * Chandrashekar became general manager of FC Kochin in 1994–95.

Death
After suffering from age related illness since 2015, O. Chandrasekhar died in Kochi on 24 August 2021. He was 86 years old.

International

 * 1962 Asian Games
 *  🥇 Gold Medal
 * 1964 AFC Asian Cup
 * 🥈 Silver Medal
 * Merdeka cup (Malaysia)
 * 🥈 Silver Medal (1959, 1964)

Domestic

 * 1963 Santosh Trophy
 *  Champion

Personal

 * Selected in Kerala's all time dream team (football)
 * Selected as Kerala's top 10 Sports Person of the Century