Agencies
New Delhi, July 20: Indian hockey legend Mohammad Shahid, known for his wizardry stick work during his playing days, passed away Wednesday due to multiple organ failure in a private hospital in Gurgaon.
The 56-year-old great was admitted to ‘Medanta’ – earlier this month after a bout of jaundice and dengue made his condition worse. He was airlifted from Varanasi.
“He breathed his last at 10:45 this morning. It was multiple organ failure that led to his passing away. He will be taken to Varanasi and last rites will be performed there tomorrow (Thursday),” Shahid’s son Mohammed Saif informed reporters.
Known for his brilliant dribbling skills, Shahid was considered one of India’s greatest hockey players. He was a member of the V Baskaran-led Indian team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was also a part of the national team that won a silver medal at the Delhi Asian Games in 1982 and bronze in the Seoul Asiad in 1986.
Hailing from Varanasi, Shahid created a flutter in world hockey in the late 1970s and early 80s with his mesmerising stick work. Such was his control over the game that his dazzling play flummoxed his opponents and he had the capacity to break the most formidable defensive line-ups.
On the pitch, Shahid was most feared by opposition teams but off it he was a polite, humble, down-to-earth human being who was ever ready to help his compatriots and juniors.
Born April 14, 1960, Shahid burst onto the international stage at the age of 19 in 1979 against France at the Junior World Cup.
However, he came to the limelight in 1980 when he made his debut with the senior side in a four-nation tournament in Kuala Lumpur under the captaincy of Vasudevan Baskaran.
Speed and ability to dribble the ball with wizardry was the hallmark of Shahid’s game, which earned him accolades and fans from across the globe.
Shahid also led the Indian team in 1985-86 and was selected in the Asian All Star side in 1986. He was was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1980-81 and Padma Shri in 1986.
Nation mourns Shahid loss
With the demise of Mohammad Shahid, a glorious era of Indian hockey ended Wednesday. Shahid carried on the rich tradition of stick wizardry exemplified by the likes of Dhyan Chand, KD Singh Babu, Leslie Claudius, BP Govinda and Ashok Kumar to name a few. Tributes flowed in from all quarters via the social media as well as other mediums for the departed soul.
Narendra Modi (twitter): “In the untimely & unfortunate demise of Mohammad Shahid, India has lost a talented sportsman who played with immense passion & vigour. We tried our level best to save him but sadly, neither our help nor prayers were enough to save him. Tributes to him. RIP
Balbir Singh (Sr): I am deeply saddened by Shahid’s death. He was a great player and also a great human being. He will be surely remembered as one of the greatest hockey player who played for India.
Hockey India (twitter): Hockey India grieves the untimely loss of Indian hockey legend Mohammad Shahid, who passed away today, 20 July 2016.
Vece Paes: He was one of the outstanding players of the recent past. In his generation, he was a class apart. I was the selector when he played for India. I remember him as a gentle, respectful person who always smiled. It’s really sad to lose him at this young age.
Gurbux Singh: “It’s a sad day for Indian hockey. I feel sad because he passed away so early in his life. Unfortunately he could not overcome the liver ailment. Probably he was one of the greats of his era in the 1980s. He was a master of dribbling and you could compare him with anybody in the world during that period.
Zafar Iqbal: We were close friends off the field and it showed off on the field also. We had a tremendous understanding with each other and we could pick each other with uncanny precision. This is a personal loss to me. He was one of India’s greatest, he was just a class apart from us.
Tributes flow in across the border
“I would tell him that if you join Pakistan team, we would be world beaters and he used to say the same for me,” was how Pakistan’s legendary centre forward Hasan Sardar reacted Wednesday on the demise of Indian hockey great Mohammad Shahid.
Accolades poured in from across the border for Shahid as two past masters from Pakistan, Sardar and Samiullah Khan, recalled how they were keen competitors on the field, and friends off it.
“Shahid was one of the rarest players who possessed superb dribbling skills without compromising on speed. This was a rare combination. I have not seen many dribblers like him,” Sardar, who scored a hat-trick in Pakistan’s famous 7–1 win over India in the 1982 Delhi Asian Games final said.
“We always wanted to beat each other, but we were close friends off the field. Shahid was not only a great player but an amazing human being as well. We have so many fond memories of him,” he added.
Samiullah, who was captain of the 1982 Asian Games gold medal winning team, said that they had to draw specific strategy to control Shahid and Zafar Iqbal, who were in top form those days.
“I was captaining the team and was very well aware of how difficult it would be to defeat India. Zafar and Shahid were in top form and I remember that we made special plans to control them. Our plan succeeded,” informed Samiullah.
“We won the final but there is no doubt that Zafar and Shahid were one of the best attacking combinations in the world that time. It was a sheer joy to watch them play. Shahid came to Pakistan during 1982 Asia Cup in Karachi and we became good friends. I suggested him to take care of his health when I met him in 2004,” he recalled.
