LAHORE: Manzoor Hussain Junior was Pakistan’s all-time great inside-right and one of the most decorated players in hockey’s history. Born in 1958 in Sialkot, Manzoor played for Pakistan from 1975 until 1984. He led Pakistan to Olympic gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games. Pakistan hockey never won gold after 1984. Manzoor capped 175 times and scored 86 goals. Olympians Brigadier Manzoor Hussain Atif (Pakistan) and Ric Charlesworth (Australia) were big influences on his game. He was often picking useful tips from them. Manzoor, remembered for his hockey prowess, was also known as ‘The Golden Boy’ for winning many gold medals. He was awarded Pride of Performance by the President of Pakistan in 1984. He was a wonderful schemer, distributor, dribbler as well as scorer. His two brothers — Maqsood Hussain and Mahmood Hussain — also played hockey and represented Pakistan.
After making his hockey debut against Kenya in Nairobi in 1973, Manzoor went on to achieve big things for Pakistan hockey. Manzoor’s contributions for Pakistan hockey are matchless: Olympic gold (1984), two World Cup golds (1978 and 1982), World Cup silver (1975), Olympic bronze (1976), two Asian Games golds (1978 and 1982), one Asia Cup gold (1982) and two FIH Champions Trophy golds (1978 and 1980). He was captain of Pakistan at Junior World Cup in 1979, the only time Pakistan won this title. Manzoor was certainly a magician, hurricane and jaguar on the hockey field, especially with his zig-zag like moves. With his hockey display, Manzoor was always considered an iconic player of every tournament. After his retirement, Manzoor had held many key positions within the Pakistan Hockey Federation. He continued to support Pakistan hockey during his life time. As a chief selector, he picked the Pakistan squad for the recently concluded Birmingham Commonwealth Games in England. He passed away due to cardiac arrest at the local hospital on 29th August 2022 (Monday) in Lahore. Down to earth, humble and soft spoken Manzoor is survived by a widow, three sons and a daughter.