'He adapted to astro-turf quickly'

Former India captain Zafar Iqbal couldn’t stop thinking about Mohammad Shahid this day. The two made a fantastic forward combination during their playing days. Zafar, referring his former teammate, as a “rare player,” recalled how quickly the wizard adapted to the astro-turf during the 1980 Moscow Olympics despite playing on grass all his life.

 It was the last time India won the Olympic gold in hockey with a 20-year-old Shahid making waves.

 “We never had astro-turf in the country at that time. We used to visualise how the astro-turf would be. I remember at the camp in Patiala we came out with the idea of removing grass and pasting the field with cow dung to make it faster. But when we reached Moscow for the Olympics, we found the astro-turf to be very different. However, one player who was extraordinary on astro-turf was Mohammad Shahid. He adapted so quickly and played at a different level. He was great on grass, but I felt he was even better on astro-turf. That was the ability of Shahid,” Zafar told Deccan Herald.

“We developed a very good combination after resolving many problems that came our way. It was an advantage playing with him. We almost had the same speed with the ball.”

Zafar remembered how Shahid mesmerised oppositions with his dodging skills during the 1980 Games. “He had the ability to dodge anybody, that used to be his hallmark. We used to admire his dodging ability. I remember after a match in 1980 Olympics, the opponents, I think it was Tanzania, sat down and laughed in bewilderment. They had never seen someone snaking past the defence line, cutting across, dodging like Shahid,” he recalled laughing.

“Since I was his senior, he used to respect me a lot. Later on he became the captain in 1986 and I played under him, I shared a great rapport with him one and off the field,” Zafar said.

It was also the time when India used to play Pakistan frequently in hockey. The pressure on the two forwards used to be immense.

“After we lost the 1982 Asiad final 1-7 to Pakistan, we were scheduled to play Pakistan again at the National Stadium. One of the officials took both of us separately and told us how we need to perform. Shahid did not like that, but he went on to score twice in that match and we drew against Pakistan. 

 “Today I am naturally feeing very upset. His family is too young. I hope they are taken care of,” said Zafar with an unmistakable hint of remorse.