Mohammed Shahid was the most gifted dribbler Indian hockey produced in the 1980s. He won Olympic gold at Moscow in 1980 at the age of 20, captained India in the mid-1980s and spent his whole working life with Indian Railways in his home city of Varanasi. He died in 2016, aged 56.
Name: Mohammed Shahid
Born: 14 April 1960, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
Died: 20 July 2016, Gurugram, Haryana
Sport: Hockey
Position: Forward
Early years
Shahid was born in Varanasi on 14 April 1960 and grew up playing on the city’s grounds. He played for India at the 1979 Junior World Cup and made his senior debut the same year. He was quick off the mark, could change direction in a stride and had a habit of beating two or three defenders before releasing the ball. His understanding with Zafar Iqbal on the left became one of the features of Indian hockey in those years.
Moscow 1980
At the 1980 Moscow Olympics India beat Spain 4-3 in the final to win the gold medal for the first time since 1964. Shahid was the youngest of the forwards and one of the stand-out players of the tournament. Earlier that year he had been named the best forward at the Champions Trophy in Karachi.
Asian Games and captaincy
Shahid won silver at the 1982 Asian Games in Delhi and bronze at the 1986 Asian Games in Seoul. He played at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and captained India in 1985 and 1986. Results in that period were mixed. Hockey was moving to artificial turf and to a faster, more physical game, and India struggled to keep up, but Shahid remained the player crowds came to watch.
Railways and later life
He stayed with Indian Railways in Varanasi after retiring and coached young players there. He received the Arjuna Award in 1981 and the Padma Shri in 1986. In 2016 he fell seriously ill with liver and kidney problems and died at a hospital in Gurugram on 20 July 2016.
Career record and honours
- Olympic gold medal: Moscow 1980
- Olympic appearance: Los Angeles 1984
- Asian Games silver medal: Delhi 1982
- Asian Games bronze medal: Seoul 1986
- Best forward, Champions Trophy, Karachi 1980
- India captain, 1985 to 1986
- Arjuna Award (1981)
- Padma Shri (1986)
