Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan’s World Cup-winning hockey goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed passed away at a hospital here on Saturday. The 49-year-old had been suffering for weeks from complications stemming from a pacemaker and stents implanted in his heart, and had reached out to India for help in securing a heart transplant. He was put on ventilator, but didn’t survive since his heart was functioning with only 20 per cent efficiency. Mansoor had represented Pakistan in 338 international hockey games between 1986 and 2000. He also captained the Pakistan team for a short time. The government of Pakistan had reportedly offered Mansoor a mechanical heart transplantation which, had he accepted, would have been the first time the procedure was to be conducted in Pakistan. However, the hockey legend had wanted a more conventional and proven procedure, for which he had wanted to go to India and had thus refused the offer. Mansoor has been a sporting icon in Pakistan since helping the country win the 1994 World Cup in Sydney with his penalty stroke save against the Netherlands in the final.

“I may have broken a lot of Indian hearts on the field of play by beating India in the Indira Gandhi Cup (1989) and in other events but that was sport,” Mansoor had said. “Now I need a heart transplant in India and for that I need support from the Indian government.” India-Pakistan ties, including sports and cultural contacts, plummeted after the 2008 militant attacks in Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistani militant groups. Despite the strained ties, Pakistanis are eligible to apply for medical visas to India, renowned for its booming medical tourism industry. “Humanity is paramount and I too would be obliged if I get a visa and other help in India,” Mansoor had said. He also participated in three Olympics and various other high-profile events in a career spanning over 14 years. In addition to being named the world’s best goalkeeper on four occasions, Mansoor was bestowed with a presidential award in 1988 and the Pride of Performance in 1994.

Published in Daily Times, May 13^th 2018.