LAHORE: The ninth gathering in the ‘Meet a Hockey Stalwart’ series, organised in Lahore by dynamic Major Peerzada, a former Pakistan hockey international, was held here the other day. This time one of the greatest names of Pakistan hockey Samiullah Khan was honoured. Popularly known as ‘Flying Horse’, he was the finest left winger of his time and may be of any period. Sami’s lightning run-downs along the flank shattered all the defences. Then his crosses almost always found teammates in scoring positions. Plus he was an excellent scorer. Played for Pakistan from 1973-82 winning two World Cup golds and one silver, and an Olympic bronze (in sole appearance). He famously captained the Pakistan side at the 1982 Asian Games where they defeated India 7-1 in the final. The function, as last time, was held at the splendid hall of the La Grande Chalet Event Complex owned by Mr Rana Imdad, a former national hockey player.
As always, several former hockey stalwarts and enthusiasts were present. Some fans of Samiullah had travelled from Karachi and Hyderabad to pay tribute to their hero. Hockey legends Dr Tariq Aziz (1968 Olympics gold medal winning captain) and Akhtar Rasool (1982 World Cup-winning captain) spoke to the guests. Dr Tariq Aziz revealed Samiullah didn’t play at the left-out position when first selected for Pakistan; used to be a left-inner. In a match on an international tour in the early part of his career, he was tried at the left wing. And he made such an impression that left out became his position for the rest of his long career. Akhtar Rasool, who played along with Sami almost throughout his international hockey career, shared interesting on-the-field incidents involving the chief guest. After the lavish dinner, a fan from Hyderabad presented Samiullah with Ajrak (traditional Sindhi shawl). As per the tradition, the chief guest cut a cake shaped into a hockey field with the engraving, An evening with Samiullah’.