Pakistanis are quite famous in the game of field hockey, and they are noted for their unique style of playing the game, with a mixture of western power hockey and Asian skill. They boast of a long list of good players of international standard, whom the westerners feared. Pakistan railways, Pakistan international airlines encourage a lot of good players by sponsoring them and providing them with jobs, to take Pakistan hockey to a great height in international standard. Pakistani banks too produce some international players.
Munawar Ur Zaman was one such banker, who represented the Pakistan hockey team, and helped them win a lot of matches in international tournaments, by scoring a lot of goals for Pakistan. He was a key player during his career as an international player. He was known for his style of game that brought in many laurels for Pakistan. Pakistanis and Indians were known for the grace that accompanied the game. Their stick work was graceful so much so that western hockey fans doubted that the Asians were playing with hockey sticks that were magic wands. In fact, some of their hockey sticks were checked half way through a match.
Munawar Ur Zaman was no different from them. He was a young lad of 19 when he represented his country. He was an instant success in the matches. He started his career by scoring a brilliant goal in his first match. He managed to convert a penalty corner into a match winner. He was a hero in his very first appearance in an international tournament. His heroic first match was an unforgettable one, because he scored against India, the Asian hockey giant and winner of Eight Olympic gold medals. The traditional match between India and Pakistan has always been more popular than any international matches.
Munawar Ur Zaman represented Pakistan in the 1971 world cup, held in Barcelona Spain. He spearheaded the attack and scored a lot of goals and helped Pakistan lift the world cup. He became a very popular hockey player in Pakistan. He played more than one hundred international matches and scored more than forty goals in his career as an international player.
He was a dedicated sportsman. He offered his services as a coach for the Pakistan national hockey team after his retirement as a player. He helped Pakistan to build a team that had to change the style of the game, since Astro-turf was introduced and power hockey was the game.
His love for the game did not end there. In the year 1994, he was a part of the Pakistan veteran’s hockey team that was preparing for a world cup tournament. During a practice session, halfway through a game he collapsed on the field, due to cardiac arrest. He was rushed to a hospital but couldn’t be revived. Thus Pakistan lost one of its ace hockey players.
The Pakistani government recognized his efforts and accomplishments by posthumously awarding him “Pride of performance” award in the year 1997.
Hassan Sardar | Akhtar Rasool | Shahbaz Ahmad | Sohail Abbas | Islahudin | Samiullah | Waseem Ahmad | Dihan Chand
Tahir Zaman | Kamran Ashraf | Rehan Butt | Manzorul Hassan | Munawar uz Zaman | Asif Bajwah | Saman Rashid |