Mohammed Shahid " LASCIVE " The " SENSATIONAL " , " EIGHTH " Wonder and a "QUADRATIC " magician Of World and Indian " Hockey "
Pic-: Getting ready for his another sequences of " marauding " dribbling to the opponent goal :: Olympic " GOLD " 1980
LASCIVE…..MOHAMMED SHAHID…..1978……Feelings…..
Pic- : Mohammed Shahid sending the Korean goalkeeper the wrong way to open a goal for India :: Olympic 1988
" Ghat-Ghat Ka Paani Peekar , Humnay saari Umar Bitaya
Humnay Bhi Wahi Seekhaa, Joh Duniya Nay Humko Sikhaya
Na Rastaa Na Manzil, Phir Bhi Pahunchey Apna Dhaam,
Hamara Naam, Banarasi Babu, Hum Hain Banarasi Babu "......
He would very proudly sing this song of Kishoreda whenever he would be free from playing or practising hockey and would say with pride-:
"Agar main Benarasi na hota, toh " Mohammed Shahid " na hota. If I wasn't a Benarasi, I would not be Mohammed Shahid," he famously said, a days before his death.
Today the HEART
cries- today the flow of blood in the veins freezes and today I
REALLY FEEL THAT SOMETIMES THE BLOOD ROLLS OUT OF THE EYE INSTEAD OF THE “ TEARS
”.
It was 3.00PM today on July 20th 2016 that my mobile for once beebed and woke me up.
I was just having a nap. When I went through it I FOUND A NOTE COMING TO ME
FROM THE CENTRE , ie THE MINISTRY under the GOVERNMENT OF INDIA, PRECISELY FROM THE " PMO " SAYING THAT-
MOHAMMED SHAHID IS NO MORE. Well back again , to the main subject about this " EIGHT " WONDER OF THE WORLD of hockey.....
LASCIVE- is
is a FRENCH word. It denotes " UNUSUAL
SENSITIVENESS " and that is its meaning. Excatly that is what I felt
when today after hearing the news about his death. I have used and compared his game to the FRANCE and the French connection because he started his international career at France in the Nunior World Cup that was held there in 1979. It started from there.
His game and the
reminiscence’s of it make me feel so. I very very FAIRLY can say that MOHAMMED SHAHID WAS THE BEST EVER HOCKEY
PLAYER THAT WAS BORN TO THE WORLD.
It was 1978 where I was at Nagpur doing my B.Sc studies. The
Vidharbha Hockey Association ground was adjacent to the Hislop College and this
was the ground where I horned my Hockey skill as the Goalkeeper for Hislop
College. I was told by an enthusiast of Hockey playing with me then at the
College, that Uttar Pradesh School Hockey Team XI would take on West Bengal in
the semis of the All India National School Games in hockey. OH” UP ” is it,
definitely I would see this match was my reaction.
Well that evening what I saw in front of my naked eye while Uttar Pradesh were playing against West Bengal was something unbelievable, unparalleled and unseen of us and me during those period. A slim, tender, and a lean boy playing in the inside Left position was as if- HALF DHYANCHAND AND A HALF SHAHID NOOR PLAYIG IN FRONT OF US.
Well that evening what I saw in front of my naked eye while Uttar Pradesh were playing against West Bengal was something unbelievable, unparalleled and unseen of us and me during those period. A slim, tender, and a lean boy playing in the inside Left position was as if- HALF DHYANCHAND AND A HALF SHAHID NOOR PLAYIG IN FRONT OF US.
“ GOODNESS- how to describe him” . Speed,
Thrust, Moves, reflexes, turns-off and with the ball, maneuverability , cutting
through, splits, passes, and above all the “ DRIBBLING ” - we almost about 2000 people that
day standing on our feet and watching that match, were treated with something which we can never
forget-NEVER. Believe me- NEVER……NEVER
in our life time. What we could see
without paying even a single penny, the others would NEVER see that even paying
all their’s life’s income all through their LIFE.
That Uttar Pradesh team had a team of miraculous players and we
were also to see Sujit Kumar, Mohinder Pal Singh to name a few who along with
Shahid later went onto play for India but that day what we could see of Shahid
was something like say MAGIC
after MAGIC with the stick
that Shahid was creating.
“ HE
WAS THE BEST DRIBBLER THAT HOCKEY HAS EVER PRODUCED” >
A team mate of mine who was also a Hislop XCollege Fullback said me while
watching the game that day- BHATTU,
KHADA RAHTAH KYA GOAL MAI. He said me that because I was the Goalkeeper
of the Hislop College Hockey team. I replied him back- TU RAHTAH KYA DEFENCE MAI.His reply was- BAAP KA MAUT AAYA HAI KYA ISKAH KHILAAF
DEFENSE MAI KHADAH RAHOON. I then replied- APNAY KOH BHI APNA BAAP KAA JINDAGI BAHUT PASAND HAI. MAR GAYA NAA
TOH DAANA-DAANA BHI KOI NAHI DEGA. Just that and nothing more that came
out of my mouth.
Shahid could cut through the West Bengal School team’s WALL if needed be
with his dribbling skill and could even beat a Leopard with his lighting runs
in the flanks. He was simply something which cannot be described in plain words
when it came to hockey and his skill. He was simply something that no ADJECTIVES can describe his
dribbling skill.
Pic - : Mohammed Shahid in the 1979 Junior World Cup Hockey, " BEST" player of that World Cup
I shall lay one incident. This was perhaps the BEST that can explain and summarise Mohammed Shahid as the " MAGIC " 1983-
CHAMPIONS CUP AT PAKISTAN. It was India versus Australia. India was
trailing 1-3 with seven minutes left in the game. Shahid took a ball by
snatching it away from the Australian midfielder. He was in a corner just near
the 25 yards on the right hand side of the TV screen then. There were 9 Australian in a field of two square metres surrounding
him. In that small space for two and a half minutes successively he
dribbled all the Australians, with immaculate ball control and lighting wrist
work and he feinted here-and-there and twisted and turned his body like a
supple snake to sneak through the Australian CHAKRAVYU and speed into the
Australian “D” from where he laid a pass for the inside right of the Indian
team to score. It was 2-3.
The same act was repeated once again immediately thereafter
where he darted with the ball to beat as many as eight Australian defender to lay a pass this time for Merwyn
Fernandes to score and make it 3-3 for India.
Another such incident was in 1985 where India were playing West Germany in the Esanda
Cup.India were trailing by 1-5 and there were eleven minutes left. From there
it was Shahid-Shahid-Shahid and
Shahid with his stick and dribbling and it was then Thoiba-Tikken- and so hence
and so forth to score.The result was “ 5-5 ” at the end of the hooter.
Pic- : The same "EXECUTION" again, Shahid weaving his waywith those "BEWITCHING " dribbles from the inside of Left to the Dutch Goal :: Bombay World Cup- 1982
There was ONE more and that was the 1981-82 World Cup Hockey which was played at Mumbai. India were playing against Holland and the Dutch had ONLY one in their mind.It wa somehow to prevent Shaid either getting the ball or to prevent him somehow to reach to any ball.They had planned that whatever be the situation, they will close in and encircle Shahid, whenever he receive the ball or get near to that.Holland had come with a plan that they thought was fool-proof. Every time Shahid would get the ball, around three or four of their players would circle him and close his options. They did that a couple of times and believed their plan was working.
Pic-:His moment of glory, the " GOAL" which won India the "EIGHT " Olympic Gold ,1980
His moment of glory was on July 29th 1980, when he was all of a sudden TRANSFORMED him and put him into a CENTRE-FORWARD position, with the intention of scoring a goal for India in the last seven minutes in the finals against Spain .
It happened. He received a ball right at the centre line and he dribbled past all the Spaniards from the cente line to the Spaniard goal and drew the Spanish Goalkeeper out and with a body TWIST and a FEINT he cut him and with the ball he entered the goal to score the fourth and the final goal for India for India to win the match by 4-3 and win it's " EIGHT " Gold Medal in Olympic Hockey.
Pics - : The Indian Hockey team standing on the podium to receive the" Gold Medal ", Moscow Olympics 1980
It was Shahid who had scored the all important " GOLD-MEDAL-WINNING-GOAL " and ever since that it has been 40 years that the Indian team did not win any medal at the Olympics.
Shahid " BEST " against Pakistan always-:
Pic- : The same "EXECUTION" again, Shahid weaving his waywith those "BEWITCHING " dribbles from the inside of Left to the Dutch Goal :: Bombay World Cup- 1982
There was ONE more and that was the 1981-82 World Cup Hockey which was played at Mumbai. India were playing against Holland and the Dutch had ONLY one in their mind.It wa somehow to prevent Shaid either getting the ball or to prevent him somehow to reach to any ball.They had planned that whatever be the situation, they will close in and encircle Shahid, whenever he receive the ball or get near to that.Holland had come with a plan that they thought was fool-proof. Every time Shahid would get the ball, around three or four of their players would circle him and close his options. They did that a couple of times and believed their plan was working.
Then, Shahid did what
he did best. He casually stood with the ball, and just as the defenders closed
in on him, he flicked his wrist one way, then the other at such high speed that
the ball became a blur. He ran through the defenders and charged towards the
Dutch goal. Those four Dutch players, meanwhile, looked at each other in
disbelief. Just like that, their game-plan was shattered.
Pic-:His moment of glory, the " GOAL" which won India the "EIGHT " Olympic Gold ,1980
His moment of glory was on July 29th 1980, when he was all of a sudden TRANSFORMED him and put him into a CENTRE-FORWARD position, with the intention of scoring a goal for India in the last seven minutes in the finals against Spain .
It happened. He received a ball right at the centre line and he dribbled past all the Spaniards from the cente line to the Spaniard goal and drew the Spanish Goalkeeper out and with a body TWIST and a FEINT he cut him and with the ball he entered the goal to score the fourth and the final goal for India for India to win the match by 4-3 and win it's " EIGHT " Gold Medal in Olympic Hockey.
Pics - : The Indian Hockey team standing on the podium to receive the" Gold Medal ", Moscow Olympics 1980
It was Shahid who had scored the all important " GOLD-MEDAL-WINNING-GOAL " and ever since that it has been 40 years that the Indian team did not win any medal at the Olympics.
Shahid " BEST " against Pakistan always-:
But the opponents he
liked playing against the most were and was Pakistan. He managed to get under their
skin through their nose poking it and piercing it with his " WILL " by toying with their best players and making them look like fools. There was a time between Januray 1st 1985 to December 31st 1985 that PAKISTAN COULD NOT BEAT INDIA IN THE ENTIRE YEAR WHEN BOTH THESE NATION LOCKED HORNS WITH EACH OTHER THAT PAKISTAN COULD NOT BEAT INDIA EVEN FOR ONCE IN ANY KIND OF A MATCH.
The Pakistani's everybody against with he played or their former stalwarts who saw him playing were his fans. He had a tremendous rapport with every Pakistani players as they would RESPECT him like anything. It was in Pakistan then that they came to the Hockey field whenever India played at Pakistan to watch Shahid and NOT the Indian team.
The Pakistani's everybody against with he played or their former stalwarts who saw him playing were his fans. He had a tremendous rapport with every Pakistani players as they would RESPECT him like anything. It was in Pakistan then that they came to the Hockey field whenever India played at Pakistan to watch Shahid and NOT the Indian team.
Off the
field, Pakistani players and Shahid would enjoy a very good rapport. In fact,
many of their players were his fans, including their captain and one of the
greats Hasan Sardar.
Spectators WORLD over came to see Shahid and NOT India-::
His followers extended
beyond the hockey turf. Spectators back then came to see Shahid, not India.
1986 : World Cup:: India finishes "LAST" , yet Shahid Is " MAN-OF-TOURNAMENT "
Well would you BELIEVE it. Well would you ever want to know whether a MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT award could be awarded by the FIH to one whose team finishes LAST in the standing of an international WORLD CUP HOCKEY tournament . Won't you say me THAT I'M A MAD AND A " CRAZY- BUM " TO WRITE THIS AND THESE WORDS
You would feel HOW CAN IT BE THAT A PLAYER WAS AWARDED THE MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT WHEN HIS TEAM FINISHED LAST IN THE WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT.
YES- that is a " FACT " ,it happened in the 1986 World Cup . India finished last in the team standing losing the last place position match to Pakistan by 2-3.Pakistan finished 11th and India finished 12th ie the last place bagged in that tourney.
The MIRACLE happened when the F I H ( Federation Of International Hockey ) adjudicated MOHAMMED SHAHID as the BEST-PLAYER-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT for that World Cup tournament.
Shahid's " GREATEST-INNOVATIVE " Gift To Hockey
His biggest contribution to the game of field hockey was the 'half push- half hit'- a stroke he used to hit the ball using the same grip used to dribble the ball. With the left hand on top of the handle and the right half low down around the centre of the stick, he used to essay this shot with a minimum back lift and slam the ball towards his partner-teammate to make an early and accurate pass . What was more- the ball would have the thrust and the power and above all he would exactly send it to the place where he wanted to send it to his fellow colleague playing the game.The same stroke was adapted by his successor Dhanraj Pillay, who was an ardent fan of the maestro. Earlier the stroke or technique did not exist in a field hockey player's repertoire or in the game's coaching manual. It was he who invented this in the field and gave it to the world of hockey and thus he was instrumental in bringing about some kind of an innovation to the game and " GIFT " something new to the game.
That makes him so very " DIFFERENT " and a proposition so very " UNIQUE " to the game .
Pic - : The Same Act Again: Almost bringing down to knees, Shahid snatches a ball of an USSR defender and sends him the wrong way to open the way for a goal while team mates Syed Ali watches keenly - India versus USSR " WORLD CUP 1981- 1982 " , India won 4-2
Honour and Award - :
Pic - : President conferring the " ARJUNA AWARD " to Mohammed Shahid
Shahid in his entire life - time won the " BEST-PLAYER-OF-THE-ENTIRE-TOURNAMENT " award from 1979 when he represented India in the Junior Word Cup till the moment when he declared that HE WOULD NOT EVER PLAY FOR INDIA AGAIN in 1988, for almost 10 season played in FOURTEEN international tournaments for India which inlcudes the Olympics ( 1980, 1984 and 1988) , Asian Games Hockey ( 1982 and 1986 ), Asia Cup Hockey ( 1981 and 1985) , Esanda Insurance World Cup Hockey ( 1983 and 1985) , IFH World Cup Hockey ( 1981-82, 1986) beside in TWO International Invitational events in 1979 and 1983 where FOUR national teams Germany, Holland, India and Australia in 1983 and Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Australia in 1979 were invited beside the Junior World Cup in 1979..
IN THESE 14 INTERNATIONAL TUURNEY , that he participated, he was adjudicated as many as NINE TIMES as the " PLAYER/MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT " .No international hockey player in the modern history of the game, has the history, EXCEPT Major Dhyanchand in the primitive era , to be awarded the BEST PLAYER prize for these many a times in the international hockey event .
Pic - : The " ONLY " Hockey player to send Ric Charlesworth and Hasan Sardar to their knees
His dribbling skills were such that in an attempt to stop him from advancing forward there were many who tried to stop him and there were many whom he brought down to the knees who tried to stop him
I'm putting one of them, the GREAT Hasan Sardar whom he brought to his knees while dribbling. This picture is from the India-Pakistan tie at the Asian Games 1982 where Pakistan beat India by 7-1 to win the GOLD.However the kind of a game that he played is demonstrated here in this picture. He brought the DREADFUL HASAN SARDAR to his knees when he tried to stop Shahid. Similiarly in the World Cup 1981-82 which was held at Bombay he TWICE brought Ric Charlesworth when he tried to stop him to his knees and the other GREAT Australian TERRY WALSH once in the course on the match in that World Cup when India were beaten by Australia by 1-2 .
Inspite of India beaten by Pakistan by 1-7 and by Australia by 1-2 in the Bombay World Cup, the press cried that EVEN INDIA LOST- SHAHID BROUGHT THOSE WORLD CUP WINNERS AND THE ASIAN GOLD MEDAL WINNERS TO THEIR KNEES .
That was the " EXTEMPORE- OSTENTATIOUS " Mohammed Shahid when it came to display his ball skill and the wrist play when he played and watching him was as like as watching the serene flow of the very mild and tamed cub of a lioness when the cubs move ahead with their mother for a walk . He was so PLAIN, SIMPLE, yet NATURAL and full with CONFIDENCE PERSONIFIED to display his MAJESTIC SKILL and what MAGICS would he create with his hockey stick .. No words to explain .
A spectator " DELIGHT " a game " DELITE " and a " WONDER"
His game was such that he produced DELIGHTS to the spectator, was a DELITE to the game and to his team mate when he played the game with them and was definitely a " WONDER " .His game was such that it was very HARD to understand him and he was ahead of his rivals on the field by many a yards. That's why in so many a tournament where India fared badly, he WALKED away with the BEST PLAYER award. In that manner he really could be ascribed or described as the EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD .
It Was Ashok Kumar Who attracted the " DRIBBLING " and brought him to it
It was in the year of 1977 that K D Singh Babu with his brain approached the U P State Government through some big shots known to him to open a SPORTS HOSTEL at Lucknow .The idea was to catch and bring about the best of the raw coots with full of potential in the game of cricket, hockey, volleyball, wrestling, and athletics to this Hostel and train them to become the future players and the stars of India .
It was K D Singh Babu who travelled all across Uttar Pradesh and picked 20 boys to train them for hockey and to get some of them from the batch to play and represent India in the future. .Babu in his attempt to get 20 boys travelled all the parts of Uttar Pradesh and selected them and one of them was this lad Mohammed Shahid from Varanasi at UP. Babu saw him playing in the DLW ground in a school match there and he immediately took him under his belt.That was how he came into the hockey.
Pics - : Ashok Kumar dribbles past a Polish Mid-fielder in a Test series in 1974 India won 3-0
The next was ONCE Babu invited the LEGENDARY Ashok Kumar , the son of Major Dhyanchand. He was later introduced to all the coots and the kids that babu was training them for hockey at that Hostel. Ashok Kumar was a RENOWNED-WORLD-CLASS-DRIBBLER during that period. Obviously to imbibe some good points Babu asked Ashok to show his dribbling skill. Playing against these boys Ashok simply demonstrated what it could be termed as a PURE-MAGIC while dribbling.
This caught Shahid's infancy and he was attracted so much to that particular aspect of the game the " DRIBBLING" that he made it a part of his life then and onward. He went to Mr K D Singh babu and plainly told him- ASHOK BHAI KA DRIBBLING MERAY DIMAG MAI CHAR CHAR CHAR KAR RAHA HAI AUR DIMAG GHOOM RAHA HAI. KYA JAADU KARTAY HAIN WOH. Mai Bhi Wahi karna Chhahtah Hoon which means the way Ashok Kumar dribbles it CUTS the entire system and everybody while watching him. He simply creates MAGIC. My head has gone for a SWIRL ever since I have watched his magic and I too want to be like that. You please make me like him.
Thereafter it was the " HELMS-AWARD " winner of the 1952 Olympics who produced a " HELMS " of Mohammed Shahid for the WORLD to see it and enjoy it.That is how he made himself to be. GREAT of all the GREATNESS and GREAT that the world of Hockey has ever produced. Ashok Kumar for Shahid was the BEST PLAYER that he had seen
1985: Ashok Kumar, Shahid, Zafar Iqbal represent Uttar Pradesh ; They win the finals
In 1985 the National games were held for once and hockey was included in that games. The trio of Zafar Iqbal, Ashok Kumar and Mohammed shahid for the first time together played for Uttar Pradesh .Whay could you expect when a TRIO of this kind and standard represent a team in the forward line. MIND YOU- ASHOK WAS IN THE END OF HIS PLAYING CAREER THEN AND ZAFAR IQBAL TOO WAS AS GOOD AS OVER IN HOCKEY .
They cut the entire opponent like a chef cutting everything on the cutting tray and won the championship defeating Maharashtra by a whopping margin by 8-3 . For the one's who really believe in traditional hockey it was for the last time that we could see what traditional hockey coupled with ARTS were all about and it was a DELIGHT to see the combination of Shahid and Ashok making a FOOL of everybody with their stcik work and what a MAGIC these two created for their team . SO UNLUCKY - so many a PAIN to endure, that Shahid was NOT born when B P Govinda, Ashok Kumar, Harbinder Singh, and Ajitpal Singh along with Aslam Sher Khan and Harmik Singh were playing for India. Pakistan would have ran away from the field just like Haroon Rahim has fled from the court against Vijay Amritraj playing a Davis Cup match then at Lucknow in 1968-69.
Now let me come back to his awards and the honour that he received and won in his career.
For his contribution to Hockey he was awarded the UTTAR PRADESH GAURAV award for Hockey beside the " Arjuna Award" and the " Padma Shri " in 1986
Partner " SHE " speaks only " ENGLISH " , and I CANNOT speak that -:
1986 : World Cup:: India finishes "LAST" , yet Shahid Is " MAN-OF-TOURNAMENT "
Well would you BELIEVE it. Well would you ever want to know whether a MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT award could be awarded by the FIH to one whose team finishes LAST in the standing of an international WORLD CUP HOCKEY tournament . Won't you say me THAT I'M A MAD AND A " CRAZY- BUM " TO WRITE THIS AND THESE WORDS
You would feel HOW CAN IT BE THAT A PLAYER WAS AWARDED THE MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT WHEN HIS TEAM FINISHED LAST IN THE WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT.
YES- that is a " FACT " ,it happened in the 1986 World Cup . India finished last in the team standing losing the last place position match to Pakistan by 2-3.Pakistan finished 11th and India finished 12th ie the last place bagged in that tourney.
The MIRACLE happened when the F I H ( Federation Of International Hockey ) adjudicated MOHAMMED SHAHID as the BEST-PLAYER-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT for that World Cup tournament.
Shahid's " GREATEST-INNOVATIVE " Gift To Hockey
His biggest contribution to the game of field hockey was the 'half push- half hit'- a stroke he used to hit the ball using the same grip used to dribble the ball. With the left hand on top of the handle and the right half low down around the centre of the stick, he used to essay this shot with a minimum back lift and slam the ball towards his partner-teammate to make an early and accurate pass . What was more- the ball would have the thrust and the power and above all he would exactly send it to the place where he wanted to send it to his fellow colleague playing the game.The same stroke was adapted by his successor Dhanraj Pillay, who was an ardent fan of the maestro. Earlier the stroke or technique did not exist in a field hockey player's repertoire or in the game's coaching manual. It was he who invented this in the field and gave it to the world of hockey and thus he was instrumental in bringing about some kind of an innovation to the game and " GIFT " something new to the game.
That makes him so very " DIFFERENT " and a proposition so very " UNIQUE " to the game .
Pic - : The Same Act Again: Almost bringing down to knees, Shahid snatches a ball of an USSR defender and sends him the wrong way to open the way for a goal while team mates Syed Ali watches keenly - India versus USSR " WORLD CUP 1981- 1982 " , India won 4-2
Honour and Award - :
Pic - : President conferring the " ARJUNA AWARD " to Mohammed Shahid
Shahid in his entire life - time won the " BEST-PLAYER-OF-THE-ENTIRE-TOURNAMENT " award from 1979 when he represented India in the Junior Word Cup till the moment when he declared that HE WOULD NOT EVER PLAY FOR INDIA AGAIN in 1988, for almost 10 season played in FOURTEEN international tournaments for India which inlcudes the Olympics ( 1980, 1984 and 1988) , Asian Games Hockey ( 1982 and 1986 ), Asia Cup Hockey ( 1981 and 1985) , Esanda Insurance World Cup Hockey ( 1983 and 1985) , IFH World Cup Hockey ( 1981-82, 1986) beside in TWO International Invitational events in 1979 and 1983 where FOUR national teams Germany, Holland, India and Australia in 1983 and Malaysia, India, Pakistan and Australia in 1979 were invited beside the Junior World Cup in 1979..
IN THESE 14 INTERNATIONAL TUURNEY , that he participated, he was adjudicated as many as NINE TIMES as the " PLAYER/MAN-OF-THE-TOURNAMENT " .No international hockey player in the modern history of the game, has the history, EXCEPT Major Dhyanchand in the primitive era , to be awarded the BEST PLAYER prize for these many a times in the international hockey event .
Pic - : The " ONLY " Hockey player to send Ric Charlesworth and Hasan Sardar to their knees
His dribbling skills were such that in an attempt to stop him from advancing forward there were many who tried to stop him and there were many whom he brought down to the knees who tried to stop him
I'm putting one of them, the GREAT Hasan Sardar whom he brought to his knees while dribbling. This picture is from the India-Pakistan tie at the Asian Games 1982 where Pakistan beat India by 7-1 to win the GOLD.However the kind of a game that he played is demonstrated here in this picture. He brought the DREADFUL HASAN SARDAR to his knees when he tried to stop Shahid. Similiarly in the World Cup 1981-82 which was held at Bombay he TWICE brought Ric Charlesworth when he tried to stop him to his knees and the other GREAT Australian TERRY WALSH once in the course on the match in that World Cup when India were beaten by Australia by 1-2 .
Inspite of India beaten by Pakistan by 1-7 and by Australia by 1-2 in the Bombay World Cup, the press cried that EVEN INDIA LOST- SHAHID BROUGHT THOSE WORLD CUP WINNERS AND THE ASIAN GOLD MEDAL WINNERS TO THEIR KNEES .
That was the " EXTEMPORE- OSTENTATIOUS " Mohammed Shahid when it came to display his ball skill and the wrist play when he played and watching him was as like as watching the serene flow of the very mild and tamed cub of a lioness when the cubs move ahead with their mother for a walk . He was so PLAIN, SIMPLE, yet NATURAL and full with CONFIDENCE PERSONIFIED to display his MAJESTIC SKILL and what MAGICS would he create with his hockey stick .. No words to explain .
A spectator " DELIGHT " a game " DELITE " and a " WONDER"
His game was such that he produced DELIGHTS to the spectator, was a DELITE to the game and to his team mate when he played the game with them and was definitely a " WONDER " .His game was such that it was very HARD to understand him and he was ahead of his rivals on the field by many a yards. That's why in so many a tournament where India fared badly, he WALKED away with the BEST PLAYER award. In that manner he really could be ascribed or described as the EIGHT WONDER OF THE WORLD .
It Was Ashok Kumar Who attracted the " DRIBBLING " and brought him to it
It was in the year of 1977 that K D Singh Babu with his brain approached the U P State Government through some big shots known to him to open a SPORTS HOSTEL at Lucknow .The idea was to catch and bring about the best of the raw coots with full of potential in the game of cricket, hockey, volleyball, wrestling, and athletics to this Hostel and train them to become the future players and the stars of India .
It was K D Singh Babu who travelled all across Uttar Pradesh and picked 20 boys to train them for hockey and to get some of them from the batch to play and represent India in the future. .Babu in his attempt to get 20 boys travelled all the parts of Uttar Pradesh and selected them and one of them was this lad Mohammed Shahid from Varanasi at UP. Babu saw him playing in the DLW ground in a school match there and he immediately took him under his belt.That was how he came into the hockey.
The next was ONCE Babu invited the LEGENDARY Ashok Kumar , the son of Major Dhyanchand. He was later introduced to all the coots and the kids that babu was training them for hockey at that Hostel. Ashok Kumar was a RENOWNED-WORLD-CLASS-DRIBBLER during that period. Obviously to imbibe some good points Babu asked Ashok to show his dribbling skill. Playing against these boys Ashok simply demonstrated what it could be termed as a PURE-MAGIC while dribbling.
This caught Shahid's infancy and he was attracted so much to that particular aspect of the game the " DRIBBLING" that he made it a part of his life then and onward. He went to Mr K D Singh babu and plainly told him- ASHOK BHAI KA DRIBBLING MERAY DIMAG MAI CHAR CHAR CHAR KAR RAHA HAI AUR DIMAG GHOOM RAHA HAI. KYA JAADU KARTAY HAIN WOH. Mai Bhi Wahi karna Chhahtah Hoon which means the way Ashok Kumar dribbles it CUTS the entire system and everybody while watching him. He simply creates MAGIC. My head has gone for a SWIRL ever since I have watched his magic and I too want to be like that. You please make me like him.
Thereafter it was the " HELMS-AWARD " winner of the 1952 Olympics who produced a " HELMS " of Mohammed Shahid for the WORLD to see it and enjoy it.That is how he made himself to be. GREAT of all the GREATNESS and GREAT that the world of Hockey has ever produced. Ashok Kumar for Shahid was the BEST PLAYER that he had seen
1985: Ashok Kumar, Shahid, Zafar Iqbal represent Uttar Pradesh ; They win the finals
In 1985 the National games were held for once and hockey was included in that games. The trio of Zafar Iqbal, Ashok Kumar and Mohammed shahid for the first time together played for Uttar Pradesh .Whay could you expect when a TRIO of this kind and standard represent a team in the forward line. MIND YOU- ASHOK WAS IN THE END OF HIS PLAYING CAREER THEN AND ZAFAR IQBAL TOO WAS AS GOOD AS OVER IN HOCKEY .
They cut the entire opponent like a chef cutting everything on the cutting tray and won the championship defeating Maharashtra by a whopping margin by 8-3 . For the one's who really believe in traditional hockey it was for the last time that we could see what traditional hockey coupled with ARTS were all about and it was a DELIGHT to see the combination of Shahid and Ashok making a FOOL of everybody with their stcik work and what a MAGIC these two created for their team . SO UNLUCKY - so many a PAIN to endure, that Shahid was NOT born when B P Govinda, Ashok Kumar, Harbinder Singh, and Ajitpal Singh along with Aslam Sher Khan and Harmik Singh were playing for India. Pakistan would have ran away from the field just like Haroon Rahim has fled from the court against Vijay Amritraj playing a Davis Cup match then at Lucknow in 1968-69.
Now let me come back to his awards and the honour that he received and won in his career.
For his contribution to Hockey he was awarded the UTTAR PRADESH GAURAV award for Hockey beside the " Arjuna Award" and the " Padma Shri " in 1986
Partner " SHE " speaks only " ENGLISH " , and I CANNOT speak that -:
He was popular among
women, too. He looked good, was stylish and had a great build. A few members of
India’s women’s team were his fans and one of them was even keen to marry him. During that period of time the Indian Women's Hockey team was also doing very good and it had a player in it who was a MUSLIM CHRISTIAN who was very fond of Shahid and she would adore him like anything. She once told one of her team mates who was later married to Surinder Singh Sodhi that she was willing to marry Shahid. She was later introduced to Shahid courtesy Zafar Iqbal and Surinder Singh Sodhi. Shahid however drew himslef out of it, “ Partner, par woh toh sirf angrezi bolti hai. Humse toh bola jaega nahi (She
speaks only in English. I won’t be able to),” he once told to Zafar Iqba and came out of the same.
He eventually had a
love marriage, and I wasn’t surprised. He was a jolly person, and the most
shaukeen in our team.
A STRICT " DISCIPLINARIAN " , a man ONTO himself - :
He was also a
disciplinarian. He never asked for a favour from anyone. Even during our
playing days, he used to take care of his own kit and never allowed anyone to
touch his hockey stick. When he was in the ICU, he regularly asked his son if
he kept his room clean.
He Would Have Made A World Of " DIFFERENCE " To India's Fortune If He Had This........
He Would Have Made A World Of " DIFFERENCE " To India's Fortune If He Had This........
IN HOCKEY......"PAIRING".....
It was 1966 when I was only 7years of age and it was for the FIRST time when I was at
Bishrampur Colliery and was into my CLASS THIRD monthly UNIT Testthat I first heard a hockey commentary,FIRST in my life.
It was the finals of the FIFTH Asian Games Hockeyfinals and India were playing Pakistan in the finals with Shankar Laxmanleading India .He was the Goalkeeper as well as the captain of the IndianHockey team.
OH- what a commentary by Jasdev Singh.....and
OH>>>>>OH HO AND OH......what a GREAT finals.....
DING-DONG....UPS & DOWNS REPEATEDLY...REPEATED ACT'S ON.....
India finally scored a WORLD CLASS goal by BalbirSingh (jr) to win that GOLD and that WAS FOR THE FIRST TIMETHAT INDIA HAD WON AN ASIAN GAMES HOCKEY GOLD.
Thereafter I have NEVER missed any COMMENTARYin hockey that India played in any Asian's Cup, Asian games Hockey, World Cup or the Olympics....
If I have to pair the PAIRING of the HOCKEY , simply choose and pair the players that I saw or heard them playing and pair the players in terms of COMPUTER PAIRINGS, or COMPUTERISED TELEPATHICUNDERSTANDING PAIRING that I have ever heard and seen them playing for
India it would be as such...5). Harbinder Singh and Balbir Singh (jr) 4). Ajit Pal Singh and Balbir Singh (jr)3). Aslam Sher Khan and Surjeet Singh2 ) . . Mohammed Shaid and Zafar Iqbal.....1). Ashok Kumar and B P Govinda . This actually would be the order of the merit of pairing them and I pair them after I saw and analysed all the aspec of the pairs that they contributed to the game . It was so UNFORTUNATE that Mohammed Shahid was not there when Ashok Kumar, B P Govinda and Harbinder Singh were playing for Indiain the forward line else all the international Gold medal would have been ours.Just imagine the forward line-:
Harbinder Singh (Left Out), Mohammed Shahid ( Left In) B PGovinda ( Central Striker), Ashok Kumar (Right In)...... what would have beenthe fate of the rivals defenders and their midfield.....If only we had MOHAMMED SHAHID then with those forwards that I have named here.The Shahid- Zafar pairing on the left was because Shahid couldcreate MIRACLES after MIRACLES with his deft body movement and UNBELIEVABLE wrist work which was DRIBBLING.....OH...what a SIGHT when he ranwith his speed controlling the ball.......GREAT.....After watching Ashok Kumar dribbling in a game for the IndianAirlines in the Nehru Cup, IN FRONT OF MY EYE, THEN , ................. as an individual, ..........I had thought that it was the end of dribbling of a world class as world ofhockey will never have a dribbler who would surpass Ashok- but Shahid had made me to ONCE again PROCLAIM that -" HE WAS THE BEST BORN FOR THAT ART OFHOCKEY AND THERE WILL BE NOBODY WHO CAN COME NEAR TO HIM- LET APART OUTCLASSING HIM IN THAT ARENA OF THE GAME " .
Ocean Of Ink Would Be Required To Describe Shahid's " MAGIC "
Acts after acts like these would require an OCEAN of ink to describe his deeds and I stop here itself.
What more can I write about a man who gave such a scare to a goalkeeper like me
in 1978 then, though I never did play even a single game against him, had of him when I first saw him at that V H A ground playing that game for the U P state Scholl team and I have
a history of stopping a penalty stroke shot from Zafar Iqbal when I played
against him in Baidyanath Hockey Tourney at Nagpur n 1978 just before
Zafar Bhai made it to the Indian XI for a series against Pakistan XI.. Without playing against him if he could run the shiver down my spine, I can imagine what would have he done with whom he played against on the turf.
1986 was the last I saw him at Nagpur.He had come to play the
Pakistan Railway XI team at the V C A ground and the macth was abandoned
however the score was the Indian team then was leading the Pakistan team by
3-2. Shahid had scored a goal of a direct hit inside the D of a LONG-CORNER.
Was that a SHOT???? …... Mr Cricketers of this era if possible look that shot
and you all will be perplexed. It was a “ CRACH
” using his WRIST and
my GOD- what a BRUTE that the shot had it in it. The ball " SKUD-MISSILED " to the goal.
After the game he and myself met. He was very quick enough to recognise me inspite of the fact that we were meeting after EIGHT years after that 1978 incident which I have described here of that V H A Ground incident of the UP versus WB School Boys' match. He POLITELY requested me to lend him my bicycle and be with
him. The reason was he, Pargat Singh and two more were to ride my bi-cycle ,with
me . ie myself , either walking or running with him to give them a lift to the Railway
Club at Nagpur where there was a dinner after the match organized and held by
the Railway Sports Club of Nagpur. Shahid and the three others were riding that
bicycle to reach the venue for the dinner. That was Indian Hockey then-that was
the condition of an Olympian then and that was the life of the Indian hockey
players then.
“ WE HAVE NOW THE JHARKHANDI’S SAYING- WHEN IT COMES TO TEAM
SELECTION: I HOLD THE REIN OF THE TEAM ”. That OLYMPIC Champion
was holding my bi-cycle that day allowing the other three to be seated in that bi-cycle , to reach
the venue of their felicitation and dinner that was to be laid out for them
that day.
Would NOT have, he , destructed the Indian cricket team if he had seen Pargat Singh , Shahid, Tandon and Ramesh Pillay, the elder brother of Dhanraj
who played that game against Pakistan Railways that day- using and sitting the
way they were seated in my HERO
BICYCLE taking the HEROES of the
Olympics and Shahid was a GOLD MEDALLION of the
Olympics , and riding it to reach the venue for the dinner.
His contribution to India in Hockey -:
Well for all his act he was placed fifth in his Junior World Cup 1979, won the MAN-OF-THE-TOUNAMENT for a Four Nation tourney at Malaysia in 1979, won the GOLD for India at Moscow in 1980 when he was hardly 20 years of age, won the Bronze in the Champions Trophy in 1981, was placed fifth in the World Senior Cup Hockey at Bombay in 1982, won the Silver in the Asian Games in 1982 , won the Silver in the Asia Cup in 1982, was placed fifth in the Olympics in 1984 , under his captaincy won the Bronze in the Asian games in 1986 and was placed at the fifth position in the Olympics in the 1988 .
His contribution to India in Hockey -:
Well for all his act he was placed fifth in his Junior World Cup 1979, won the MAN-OF-THE-TOUNAMENT for a Four Nation tourney at Malaysia in 1979, won the GOLD for India at Moscow in 1980 when he was hardly 20 years of age, won the Bronze in the Champions Trophy in 1981, was placed fifth in the World Senior Cup Hockey at Bombay in 1982, won the Silver in the Asian Games in 1982 , won the Silver in the Asia Cup in 1982, was placed fifth in the Olympics in 1984 , under his captaincy won the Bronze in the Asian games in 1986 and was placed at the fifth position in the Olympics in the 1988 .
That MAGICAL
man is GONE . It is all over FOUR years that he is no
more, only those memory remains and the TEARS flows down the eye.
" The ghats of Benares must be demanding a reply from Mohammed Shahid. " You loved us like your children throughout, and when it was time to bid adieu, you chose to be so far away," they must be complaining in unison " ........
" The ghats of Benares must be demanding a reply from Mohammed Shahid. " You loved us like your children throughout, and when it was time to bid adieu, you chose to be so far away," they must be complaining in unison " ........
Be HAPPY wherever you are Shahid Bhai . I hope you might be at
Varanasi because for anything else- YOU DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE VARANASI AT ALL.
Regards
Pic
Shyamal
Bhattacharjee
Mr Shyamal Bhattacharjee, the author was born at West
Chirimiri Colliery at District Surguja, Chattisgarh on July 6th 1959 He received his early education at Carmel
Convent School Bishrampur and later at Christ
Church Boys' Higher Secondary School at
Jabalpur. He later joined Hislop College at Nagpur and completed his graduation in Science and he also
added a degree in B A thereafter. He joined the HITAVADA, a leading dailies of Central India at Nagpur as a Sub-Editor
( Sports ) but gave up to complete his MBA in 1984 He
thereafter added a Diploma In Export Management. He has authored THREE books namely Notable Quotes and Noble
Thought published by Pustak Mahal in 2001 Indian
Cricket : Faces That Changed It
published by Manas Publications in 2009 and Essential
Of Office Management published by NBCA, Kolkatta in 2012. He has a experience of about 35 years in Marketing .
Signature Of Shyamal Bhattacharjee
Wow that's awesome. Literally transported me back to the days when I got my ears stuck to the Radio set to hear about the skills effected on the field in that golden voice of Jasdev Singh.
ReplyDeleteA excellent researched and documented.
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