Remembering hockey legend Mansoor

It has been two years since the country lost legendary goalkeeper Mansoor Ahmed — possibly the leading contributor in winning laurels for Pakistan on the hockey field.

No other green badge holder of modern era has contributed so much to Pakistan hockey’s successes as did Mansoor. The country owes the last two major international victories entirely to the goalkeeper, who was solid un­der the bar and possibly the fittest of all players in his era.

This correspondent is a witness to all his major achievements for Pakistan, especially in early and mid-nineties, and was one of the few journalists who covered the 1994 World Cup in Sydney.

Mansoor’s uncanny ability to guard the goal turned out to be the winning recipe for Pakistan in the World Cup and earlier in the Champions Trophy in Lahore. It is no exaggeration that had it not been for Mansoor, winning the last two major tournaments would have been only a dream. His prowess first earned Pakistan a place in the 1994 World Cup final at the expense of Germany and then the title with win over the Netherlands — both victories in penalty shootouts courtesy Mansoor’s solo efforts.

Six months prior to the World Cup, Mansoor was again in the limelight when Pakistan earned their first major title after the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games gold medal. Again he came to the rescue in the semi-final and final of the 1994 Champions Trophy. However, despite all these heroics, his private life was marred by repeated shocks. The first shock he received after turning into a mega hero was when players staged a revolt against his captaincy as the team was about to leave for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Then came the most critical phase of his life when he retired from international hockey and started concentrating on his employment with Pakistan Customs. He was promoted to a position of superintendent and was appointed in-charge of a warehouse in Karachi. Since he had spent all his life serving Pakistan hockey, Mansoor probably was too naive for a tricky Customs job. Those who knew the tricks and trades of minting money from these positions threw Mansoor in total dilemma. Over 1200kg of silver went missing from a warehouse in Karachi. Mansoor was blamed for the negligence — though time and again he clarified his position but to no avail.

A criminal case was registered against him. He was arrested and sentenced. For over 12 years he fought his case and was acquitted from all charges. By that time his family life and credibility as an honest citizen was tarnished to a level of a no return. His divorce turned out to be the telling blow to his physical and mental health. He never recovered from the repeated shocks as his health started turning from bad to worse. He had to undergo cardiac surgery which ultimately took his life.

Since he was a true athlete, he always seemed ready to be involved in tough physical challenges — sometimes at the expense of his health. Even the Pakistan Hockey Federation officials did not realise that his health required static responsibilities rather than active ones. He was given job of a goalkeeping coach and was also asked to train junior strings. But after his heart surgery, maybe a selector’s role would have been most suited to him.

Those who were in a position to help him out now mourn his death, but do not realise that a little bit of support at that time could have saved the legend from a lot of agony.

The PHF should pay tribute to Mansoor’s services by introducing a national ranking tournament after his name. This step will keep his name alive forever.