(March 28, 1935 – June 01, 2011)
Olympian Munir Ahmad Dar was one of the finest hockey players of Pakistan. Born in March 1935, he won laurels in hockey for the country in 1950s and 1960s. Known as one of the finest full backs Pakistan has ever produced, Munir had the unique distinction of representing the country in the first ever appearance of Pakistan in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where they won silver medal. Munir had made his debut at the 1956 Olympics where the 19 year old had his initial taste of international hockey in the very first final his country played at the biggest quadrennial sporting extravaganza of the world. The youngster surprised everyone with a mature display at the most important match of international hockey calendar. His timely and swift positioning, anticipation and tackling rendered the legendary Indian left-in Udham Singh ineffective. Munir had become an international star overnight. He had been the part of Pakistan team who won gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He was again part of the silver medal Pakistan Olympic team who lost to India in the final of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. He captained Pakistan team from 1965 to 1967.
Hockey was included for the first time in the Asian Games in the third edition, in 1958. With five teams in the fray, the hockey tournament was held in a single league format. Cometh 1958 Asian Games, Pakistan steamrolled the first three oppositions: Japan 5-0, South Korea 8-0, Malaysia 6-0.The result against Korea was very significant. In their previous match, the mighty India had barely squeezed past the plucky East Asians 2-1. Everyone expected a close match between Pakistan and Korea. However, the young full back Munir’s record breaking feat demolished the Koreans. The 21 years old converted no less than five ‘successive’ penalty corners. He thus became the first person to do this in international hockey. Munir’s ‘five’ against Koreans had more implications in the final standings of the 1958 Asiad. Pakistan and India contested the last league fixture. Both the teams had full points from the previous games. As expected, a fierce battle ensued. The two teams had their chances with Pakistan having the major share. Eventually the time ran out and the match ended as a scoreless draw. The gold and silver had to be decided on goal difference. India had beaten Japan 8-0 and Malaysia 6-0 but the results against Korea made the difference. The 2-1 win against them meant India’s goal difference stood at 15 with 16 for and one against. On the other hand Pakistan had scored 19 without conceding one. Thus Pakistan had its first ever title; for India it was the first time they failed to win a tournament since their international debut in 1928. In final calculations, it was youthful Munir’s five goals which made all the difference.
After assisting Pakistan in their historic gold medal victory at the 1960 Olympics, the 1962 Asian Games were the next stop for Munir. Pakistan retained the Asiad gold in an imperious manner winning all the matches convincingly including the all-important final against India 2-0. Munir Dar struck four penalty corners in the tourney. The 1966 Asiad at Bangkok was not only Munir’s third appearance at the biggest continental event but this time he also had the honour to captain the national side. Again, Pakistan and India met in the final. However, on this occasion Pakistan had to contend with the silver. Shankar Laxman, India’s greatest goal keeper, had the game of his life and saved a number of Pakistan attempts. Still, Munir had a wonderful tally of two golds and one silver in his three appearances at the Asian Games.
An outspoken and friendly figure, Munir till his last breath remained attached with the hockey and other sports. Besides hockey he has a great passion for horses and owned horses which were regularly participating in Lahore horse club races. His passion with horses got stronger and he was known as an authority on top horses of the country. He had a long association with the Pakistan Karate Federation and was its President for many years. He was also an executive committee member of Pakistan Rugby Union.
The Dar family is easily the most glorified Pakistani family at the Olympics. One member of the family has figured in each of the three Olympic gold medals won by the country: Munir in 1960, his brother Tanvir Dar in 1968 and Munir’s son Taqueer Dar in 1984. On the continental stage as well, the magnificent trio of full-backs who were also deadly on the penalty corners achieved great glories. Munir’s son Taqueer emerged on the scene in the early 1980s. His defensive skills and the penalty corner conversion style were reminiscent of his illustrious father. Taqueer’s international career didn’t last long (1983-85). Still, he achieved distinctions at both the global and continental levels. He was a member of the gold medal winning team of the 1984 Olympics team thus completing the remarkable family treble. On the Asian front, Taqueer’s sole appearance was at the second Asia Cup held at Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 1985, where Pakistan retained the title after a classic final against India. Munir died on June 1, 2011 at age 76 after a protracted illness.