Golden period in Indian football was from 1951 to 1962 when under Syed Abdul Rahim, the team reached its zenith and became first best Asian nation. India started the ’50s in style, having won a truly historic 1951 Asian Games at home by beating Indonesia Afghanistan and Iran for the title. They followed this up with a win a few years later in the 1952 Colombo multinational cup. The name was synonymous with the growing infatuation of a new generation of Indians to football, several historic moments and changes in Indian football from the Olympics where AIFF decided boots were to be worn.

India’s Historic Triumphs In The 1950s And 1960s

India’s string of victories continued in the 1950s when India won the three subsequent Quadrangular Cup of Burma, Calcutta, Dhaka in 1953, 1954 and 1955 respectively. They ended the following year eighth in the 1954 Asian Games in Manila. Yet it was in 1956 at the Olympics that India would come calling with another historic performance finishing silver. Their opening match was a match against host Australia and they won 4–2 fighting hard with Neville D’Souza getting a hat trick of goals which became the first Olympic to be recorded by Asian and India became the first Asian team to finish in the semi-finals of any world tournament. They lost 4-1 to Yugoslavia and 3–0 to Bulgaria in a play-off for third place but it remains an important achievement in Indian football history.

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Continued Success In The 1950s And 1960s

India took part in the 1958 Asian Games in Tokyo, where they came in fourth. They also came in second in the 1959 Merdeka Cup in Malaysia. In 1960, the team started with the Asian Cup qualifiers but didn’t make it through. However, in 1962, India made a strong comeback by winning the Asian Games, beating South Korea 2–1 in the final. They then finished second in the 1964 AFC Asian Cup, which was played in a round-robin style. India also did well in the Merdeka Cup in 1964, 1965, and 1966, securing second and third places in those years.