Talimeren Ao was an Indian footballer and physician. He is best known as the captain of Indian team in their first ever match. He was born on 28 January 1918 in Assam, Naga hills to the Rev. Subongwati Ningdangri Ao and his wife Maongsangla Changkilari, in the village of Changki, in the then Naga Hills District of Assam. He was the fourth of twelve children. Perhaps one of the most famous Nagas, he was a figurehead of India's football history, and his name is resonant in the collective memory of the people.
In 1943 Ao joined Mohun Bagan, who were then in the Calcutta Football League. He captained the Maroon and Green in 1948 and 1949, taking over from Sarat Das. Sarat Das was Ao's senior in Cotton College, Guwahati, and both of them had played for the Maharana Club of Guwahati. Ao was a striker in the Maharana Club but on joining Mohun Bagan he was positioned in the defense. In Mohun Bagan, Ao was Centre-Half and along with his two Backs, they were popularly known as "the Great Wall of China". He was given the captain's armband in 1948 to captain the Indian Football Team in London. In 1950 Ao captained Bagan in the Durand Cup but lost to Hyderabad Police in the final 1–0. Ao told his son that in this Durand Cup the Mohun Bagan goalkeeper was injured and that he took over in his place.
International career
In 1948, a year after India won its independence, Ao was the captain of the India national football team in the 1948 Summer Olympics, in the team's first official game and was the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent. The Indian team's first match was against Burma, but the game was a walkover. In India's second match, against France, the team lost 2–1, with the India goal coming from Sarangapani Raman. Ao played five more matches for India before retiring.
Later life
Ao studied medicine at R.G.Kar Medical College, Kolkata,West Bengal. He earned his MBBS, and in 1963 he returned to Nagaland where he was given the post of Assistant Civil Surgeon. He later became Civil Surgeon. He went on to be appointed Director of Nagaland Health Services, from which he retired in 1978. In 2002 the Mohun Bagan honored him by creating the Mohun Bagan Ratna Award and giving him a Life Membership. In Assam, an outdoor stadium at Kaliabor and an indoor stadium at Cotton College have been named after him. In 2009, Union Minister for Mines and DoNER, B.K Handique, inaugurated the first Dr. T. Ao Football Trophy at the DDSC Stadium in Dimapur, Nagaland, to encourage and challenge the North-East Youth to excel in both sports and academics.
Death
Early in 1998 Ao contracted seasonal influenza. Being already fragile of health and a diabetic, it led to further complications and deterioration. He was transported from Dimapur to Kohima, hospitalized and finally died in the Naga Civil Hospital, where he first served as Civil Surgeon in the early 1960s. He wished to be and was buried in the Naga Cemetery, Khermahal, Dimapur. He is survived by his wife Deikim Doungel, a Staff Nurse, two sons, two daughters and eight grandchildren.
