Kolkata: Legendary Indian footballer P.K. Banerjee suffered a cardiac arrest and was temporarily put on pacemaker on Friday, family sources said.
“He has been put on a pacemaker. His condition is critical,” a family source said.
“We don’t see much improvement in his condition. When you have lungs problem it keeps on fluctuating,” Dr Kunal Sarkar of the Medica Superspecialty Hospital said in the medical bulletin.
“He’s conscious and responding. We are trying our best. Hopefully, we will reach a stage from where we can think of removing ventilators. But we are still worried about some parameters,” he said.
“We do not want to rush and waiting for a few days. We are keeping a close watch. He’s battling eyelids and has been sedated.”
Suffering from the respiratory problem due to pneumonia and with an underlying history of Parkinson’s disease, dementia and heart problem, the 83-year-old was put on life support on March 2.
The Olympian has represented India at the quadrennial event twice, in 1956 Melbourne and 1960 Rome editions.
Banerjee also had a gold medal from the 1962 Asian Games to his name.
While coaching, he managed the Indian national team, even leading them in the Munich Olympics in 1972. At the club level, Banerjee has coached East Bengal and Mohun Bagan.
His contributions to the game have also been recognised by FIFA when he was awarded the Centennial Order of Merit in 2004.
