Brainfade Posted September 3, 2016 Posted September 3, 2016 (edited) MOHAMMED SHAHID - Former India hockey captain (14 Apr 1960 - 20 June 2016) ICFers in their 40s or above who followed hockey in the 1980s will remember a pocket dynamite whose dribbling skills were dazzling, footspeed was lightning and heart was big: forward Mohammed Shahid. He played left-in and right-in for India and his partnership with fluid outside-left Zafar Iqbal made for glorious watching. Shahid was an understated star who let his game do the talking, and on his day, his game spoke loud and clear. Before you knew it, he would weave his way between and around defenders and release the ball with pinpoint precision! His peak coincided with that of Diego Maradona, and to me, Shahid was the Maradona of hockey. I particularly remember an India-Pakistan test match played in Hyderabad (India) in 1986, the same year Maradona dazzled with his feet in Mexico City. Shahid and India were simply dominating. He scored two goals and had a hand in at least 2 others. I couldn't watch on TV, but the memories that my mind made while listening on the radio are clear as day. With Mohinder Pal Singh and Pargat Singh on defence, and Thoiba Singh, Tikken Singh and Mohammed Shahid on the frontline, India ran circles around the men in green (who were no slouches in that era, by the way) and won 6-3. His skills were especially effective on grass (although his buddy Zafar Iqbal says Shahid was just as good on turf), and that brand of hockey has faded away. Astroturf has changed the game forever, fans have adjusted and we all move on, but the memories linger. And Shahid, for me, dominates those memories. Thank you, Shahid Sir, for the awesome memories. I don't usually thank professional sportspeople since they are being well-compensated for providing entertainment, but men like Shahid deserve our gratitude as they played in an era when hockey was an afterthought, hockey players were 2nd-class citizens, and although hockey was India's "national" sport, it garnered virtually no attention. Shahid passed away on July 20, 2016 at a way-too-young age of 56 after ignoring a bout of jaundice and being taken to the hospital after it was too late to do anything. I saw the news while looking up something about Indian hockey for a crossword puzzle. Edited September 3, 2016 by Moth2Flame tweaker and Nova 2
Brainfade Posted September 3, 2016 Author Posted September 3, 2016 20 minutes ago, radhika said: Jaundice!!!! That is sad. RIP. Apparently the bottle may have played a role.
Recommended Posts