Tahir Zaman

Hockey is a game that needs lot of skill, stamina and strength. Played at its best, a hockey match is a treat to watch for the spectators. The game is very popular all over the world, especially in the continent of Asia. Among the Asians, the Pakistanis and Indians were the top players for a very long time. It is only recently that the Koreans, Malaysians and Chinese have caught up with them. The teams play under different formations- Sometimes defensive, and sometimes offensive. The Asians mostly play with five forwards, three half-backs, two full-backs and a goalkeeper.

Tahir Zaman was a very effective forward - known for his speed, he was among the best forwards in the world. It was during his period that the Pakistan hockey team managed to switch over to power hockey and they became a threat to western hockey teams.

Tahir Zaman posed a constant threat to the opponents. As an effective forward, he was agile inside the opponents D-line, waiting for any small opportunity to come his way. In Astro-turf, deflecting any shot from any direction into the goal is business and Tahir Zaman meant business in international hockey. He has scored more than 100 goals for Pakistan in international matches. Only Hassan Sardar and Sohail Abbas were ahead of him.

Tahir Zaman is from Punjab, Pakistan. He was born on March 6th; in the year 1969.He represented Pakistan at the Olympics in 1992 held in Barcelona. He was a part of the team that won the silver medal at the 7th World Cup hockey championship held at Lahore, Pakistan. Their team won the gold medal at the 8th World Cup held in Sydney, Australia.

Tahir Zaman, after many years of dedicated service to the Pakistan team, was appointed as captain of Pakistan hockey team for the World Cup hockey tournament that was held in Utrecht, Holland. Shabaz Ahmed was the vice captain under him. This time however they failed to perform well and the Pakistan squad slid down to the 6th position.

Tahir Zaman represented his country in more than 200 international matches. With this experience in him, he took over as the coach for the Pakistan national hockey team. Amidst a lot of criticisms that a former player should not be appointed as a coach, He still managed to do a tremendous job by helping Pakistan take the bronze medal at the Olympics in 2002. Tahir Zaman’s scientific and positive approach was very good. His style of coaching was appreciated by all the leading players, when foreign coaches were sought after, to introduce western power game to the Asians.

The International Hockey federation (IHF) promotes hockey in countries where the game is not popular yet. The IHF, conducted workshops for coaches from all over the country. Tahir Zaman was appointed as the head, for the solidarity hockey course, for coaches, held at Muscat, Oman, since Middle East was identified as one such place for promotion of hockey. His contribution to Pakistan hockey and Hockey in general has been immense.