Daily Times

The resume of very few hockey figures can match that of Pakistani great Islahuddin Siddiqui.

Speed was the right winger’s forte. Apart from his lightning raids on the flank, his dashes from the goal line to thwart the opposition’s penalty corners brought him international fame.

A well-decorated player. World Cup: two golds (1971 & 1978) and one silver (1975); last two as captain. Olympics: silver (1972) and bronze (1976). Asian Games: three golds (one as captain).

As national team manager, Islah had many stints from the early 1980s to 2007.

Major successes include World Cup silver (1990), Olympics bronze (1992), Asian Games gold (1990) and Asia Cup gold (1989) He served as a member FIH Rules board from 1993 – 2010. The FIH awarded him the greatest award in hockey services, the diploma of merit – only Pakistani.

The Pakistan government has also awarded him in recognition of his great services to the game:

Pride of Performance in 1982. Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2010. This year, Islahuddin became the first hockey player to be awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian award Nishan-i-Imtiaz.

A wonderful function was arranged to commemorate his latest award at the recently built state-of-the-art Manzoorul Hassan Hockey Stadium in Lahore which also houses an excellent hockey academy.

A galaxy of hockey stars gathered to pay tribute to Islahuddin. These included two Olympic gold medallists: Dr Tariq Aziz (captain 1968) & Tauqeer Dar (1984), five World Cup winners: Akhtar Rasool (1971, 1978 & 1982 as captain), Manzoorul Hassan (1978), Lt Col Saeed (1978) Tahir Zaman (1994) & Khawaja Junaid (1994), decorated Olympian Col. Mudassar Asghar (silver 1972 & bronze 1976) who also served as the secretary PHF when Pakistan won the 1994 World Cup. Also present were the President of the Pakistan Olympic Association Abid Qadir Gillani, CEO Grays of Cambridge of Pakistan Khawar Anwar Khawaja.

The bespoke Defence Hockey Academy’s all 30 trainees attended the morale-boasting function honouring a hockey legend.

Many spoke. Islah’s former teammates Akhtar Rasool and Manzoorul Hassan narrated interesting anecdotes of the past. Islah in his articulate style recalled fond memories. He also advised the academy trainees to avail the wonderful opportunity to hone their hockey skills and help Pakistan hockey regain its lost prestige, “in our time, we couldn’t imagine such facilities”.

Later, Islahuddin was presented with a memento to remind him of the evening.