Rare it is to be sitting opposite a champion, someone who scored the winning goal for a World Cup. Rumman Islam and I had the privilege of witnessing such a moment when Rummaninterviewed Syed Akhtarul Islam at his home in Karachi. It is a name little heard in the popular news.
In his own words, “You always know how well you are doing, you know when it is time to stop playing. It is another matter if you are in denial”. Thus,after retiring from the sport in 1975, Akhtarul Islam joined the Marketing Pool in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA). Already part of the PIA Sport Pool, he saw a better opportunity to establish a career in Marketing.
His older brother, KhurshidAslam, who was also a hockey champion, inspired him. Akhtarul Islam started playing hockey at Model School in Karachi, famed for producing excellent hockey players. Though little heard, his career in hockey had several high points.Pakistan team won 1968 Olympics, 1970 Asian Games and 1971 World Cup. Akhtarul Islam was part of two of these tournaments, scoring the winning goal in 1971. Furthermore, he was captain of team during the 1974 tour of Kenya.
Akhtarul Islam also spoke of his experience atthe 1972 Olympics, where Pakistan achieved silver, losing to West Germany. He described the atmosphere in the country following the 1971 War and its effect on the team. The mood was melancholic and the nation was looking for a stellar performance from the team. However, the team lost the final. Protesting the events at the Games that year, Pakistan team received their medals in their hands instead of around their necks. Akhtarul Islam described an incident whenShehnaz Sheikh started flinging the medal around and it fell to the ground. Incidentally, Sheikh was wearing slippers that day and ended up picking the medal with his foot. The cameras captured the moment and the ensuing outcry led to the team being banned.
Thus, having been part of the Pakistan hockey team during its glory days, Akhtarul Islam also witnessed the beginning of its end. He mentioned thishappened due to multiple reasons, chief among them being change of positioning on field and introduction of AstroTurf. Players in the Pakistan team were not accustomedto these rules. Consequently, the next generation of players was not of thecaliber required.AstroTurf was expensive and there were no coaches to train players in the new rules. Gradually the quality of the sport suffered in Pakistan and finally the sponsors (PIA, Banks, Customs etc.) withdrew their support. Eventually, the support for players at the grassroots diminished and the sport became expensive.
Speaking fondly of its past, Syed Akhtarul Islam, however, did not have high hopes for the future of hockey in Pakistan.
