Asian Games gold medallist and Olympian Tulsidas Balaram, a part of Indian football’s ‘holy trinity’ in the 1950s and 60s, died here on Thursday after a prolonged illness, sources close to his family said.

Balaram belonged to the golden generation of Indian football and teamed up with legends such as Chuni Goswami and PK Banerjee to forge a formidable partnership upfront.