Daily Times

Dr Ghulam Rasool was the one of the greatest players of Pakistan hockey. He was truly a legend. He captained his university hockey team and won Inter-University Tournament. Later he was included as a member of the Pakistan national team that participated in the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and won a silver medal. Two years later, he represented Pakistan in the Asian Games Hockey Tournament in Tokyo and received a gold medal. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, Dr Rasool was part of the Pakistan team that won a gold medal by defeating archrivals India in the finals. In 1962, Dr Rasool was again an important member of the national team that participated in the Asian Games Hockey Tournament held in Jakarta and won a gold medal by defeating India in the finals. In 1963, Dr Rasool became captain of the Pakistan team that took part in a tournament in Lyon, France. After retirement from active hockey, Dr Rasool served the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF)as its top official. He also served as the chairman of the national selection committee. Dr Rasool died in 1991. One of his sons, Akhtar Rasool, was also an international hockey player who skippered the Pakistan team in the 1982 World Cup in India and won a gold medal for Pakistan by defeating India in the finals.

An Educationist: Dr Rasool obtained his MSc degree in Agriculture from Faisalabad University with first position in the university. He began his career as a lecturer in Atchison College Lahore, but soon joined Rehabilitation Department where he worked as Deputy Settlement Commissioner. Later, he joined the Kansas University in the United States and completed a PhD within three years, returning to Pakistan to join as Principal of Atchison College Lahore. Later, he was appointed vice chancellor if Faisalabad University for three years. Thereafter he joined the Punjab Agriculture Development Corporation as a managing director. He finally retired as secretary of the Agriculture Department in Punjab. Dr Rasool was also the honorary secretary of Pakistan Association of Science and was the first Asian ever to receive the International Alumni Medallion Award from Kansas State University, the highest honour on him for life achievement.

He was recipient of a number of distinctions and gold medals and was conferred the ‘Pride of Performance Award’ title by the President of Pakistan in 1963.

Akhtar Rasool: Like his father Dr Ghulam Rasool, Akhtar was noted for his clean style play and spectacular performance and as such was included in the Pakistan team in 1971. He was a player of relaxed approach but extreme courage, control and poise were hallmarks of his excellence in a highly demanding position at center-half. From 1971 till 1982, Akhtar played numerous national and international matches, displaying his superior skills in hockey. He had an exceptional technique and a knack of passing the ball to the right player at the right time. In the latter part of his hockey career, Akhtar made a great mark for himself. He played a crucial role in Pakistan’s victories in 1978 and 1982 Hockey World Cups. In 1982, Akhtar captained the Pakistan team for the World Cup held in Bombay and won a gold medal for Pakistan by defeating India in the finals. After World Cup in Bombay, Akhtar retired in a blaze of glory. By then, he had the singular distinction of being the only player to have played in four World Cups. Akhtar also played in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich and 1976 Summer Olympics held in Montreal and won silver and bronze medals in 1972 and 1976, respectively.

He was also awarded highest civil award Pride of Performance by Pakistan Government. Akhtar was also elected as a member of Punjab Provincial Assembly five times and served as a Provincial Minister three times. Akhtar served as the president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation and the chairman of the national selection committee in the year 2002 and that time too his focus was the development of Pakistan hockey. He ensured that the players were helped in each possible way to maintain their consistency.

Published in Daily Times, June 26th, 2017.