Akhtar Rasool (born 13 January 1954) ( ur, اختر رسول) is a
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
player, captain and
olympian from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
who won the gold medal with the Men's National Hockey Team at the Hockey World Cup 1978, and again in 1982. He played as Center Half for the Pakistan hockey team. Akhtar is considered one of the creative geniuses in centre-half recovery and ball distribution.
[
]
Background and education
Akhtar Rasool was born in Faisalabad
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
District of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, formerly known as Lyallpur
Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur ( Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pak ...
.[ His father was Chaudhry Ghulam Rasool and was himself a world-renowned hockey Olympian beside being an eminent ]educationist
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Var ...
. Akhtar graduated from Government College Lahore
The Government College University, Lahore (colloquially known as GCU), is a public research university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Opened as Government College, Lahore, in 1864, it became a university in 2002.
Overview
In 1864, Gov ...
. During his college days, Akhtar remained the captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the College Hockey team. He was awarded "Roll of Honor" and "College Color" for his excellent performance in hockey.
Career
Akhtar was noted for his clean playing style and performance and as such was first included in the Pakistani national hockey team in 1971. He was a player of relaxed approach but extreme courage, control and poise were hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term ''hallmark'' can al ...
s of his excellence in a highly demanding position at centre-half. From 1971 till 1982, Akhtar played numerous national and international matches, displaying his superior skills in hockey.
He had an exceptional technique and a knack of passing the ball to the right player at the right time. In the latter part of his hockey career, Akhtar made a great mark for himself.
He played a crucial role in Pakistan's victories in 1978 and 1982 Hockey World Cup
The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer O ...
. In 1982, Akhtar captained the Pakistani team for the Hockey World Cup Championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
held in Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and won a gold medal for Pakistan by defeating W. Germany in the finals.
After Bombay Hockey World Cup, Akhtar retired in a blaze of glory as skipper of the side which had won the gold in 1982. By then, he had the singular distinction of being the only player to have played in four World Cups.[
Akhtar also played in the ]1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...
held at Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, 1976 Summer Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
held at Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
and won Silver and Bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
Medals in 1972 and 1976, respectively.
He was a good pivot and played important role in Pakistani victories in 1978 and 1982 Hockey World Cups. He was also awarded highest civil award Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
by the Pakistani Government in 1983.
After his retirement from professional hockey, he was elected as the President of Pakistan's hockey supreme body the PHF. This was to be only for a term of one year. He took over at a time when the PHF was bankrupt and had just gotten out of the 1996 players revolt just before the world cup. He worked diligently and his hard work paid off and he was elected for another term as the President. He was supposed to continue till the year 2002.
He then served as the chairman of the selection committee in the year 2002, and at that time too, his focus was the development of Pakistani hockey. He ensured that the players were helped in each possible way to maintain their consistency. He is still an active member of Pakistani hockey. He is either coaching or training young lads in Pakistan with the same motto and that is promotion of Pakistan hockey.
Akhtar Rasool was elected unopposed as the president of the Pakistan Hockey Federation in 2013 but could not perform as well as expected this time. "Pakistan had secured eighth position in the qualifying event for the Olympics held in Belgium and as a result failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games. It was the first time in the game's history that Pakistan missed out on a spot at the Olympics."['Pakistan Hockey Federation president Akhtar Rasool resigns']
Dawn (newspaper), Updated 20 August 2015, Retrieved 15 May 2021
After retirement
Akhtar retired from active hockey after winning Hockey World Cup
The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer O ...
, at Bombay in 1982. He remains active in hockey by coaching or training young players in Pakistan with the primary intention of promoting Pakistani hockey.
Akhtar has held the offices of President of Punjab Sports Board; President, Punjabi Hockey Association; and President, Punjab Athletics Association. In 1997, he was elected Chief of Pakistan Hockey Federation
The Pakistan Hockey Federation ( ur, ) is the governing body for the sport of field hockey in Pakistan. It is affiliated with the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
Management positions
The current Patron-in-Chief is Prime Minister Mian Mu ...
(PHF)---Pakistan's hockey supreme body—for a one-year term. He took over the reins at a time when the PHF was almost bankrupt and had gotten out of the 1996 players revolt just before the Hockey World Cup. He was re-elected PHF chief for a second term till 2002 but resigned in 1999 for personal reasons. He then served as the Chairman of the selection committee in 2002.
Awards and recognition
In 1983, Akhtar was awarded Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
, the highest civil award by the Pakistani Government, in recognition of his contributions to Pakistani hockey.[
]
In active politics
After retirement from active hockey, Akhtar entered politics in 1985. He contested as an independent and was elected MPA to Punjab Assembly. In 1986, he became Excise and Taxation Minister of Punjab. In 1988, he was elected from P.P 128 Ichhra on Islami Jamhuri Itihad ticket and became the Sports Minister of Punjab.
In 1990, he again contested on Islami Jamhoori Ittehad
The Islami Jamhoori Ittehad ( Islamic Democratic Alliance; acronym: IJI; ur, ) was a right-wing conservative alliance formed in September 1988 to oppose the democratic socialist Pakistan Peoples Party in elections that year. The alliance compri ...
party ticket and was elected MLA with a big margin. In 1993, he contested Parliament seat on Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties Subcontinent
; British India
*All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
**Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...
ticket and became MPA (Member of Provincial Assembly).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasool, Akhtar
1954 births
Living people
Pakistani male field hockey players
Olympic field hockey players for Pakistan
Olympic silver medalists for Pakistan
Olympic bronze medalists for Pakistan
Olympic medalists in field hockey
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Field hockey players at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Field hockey players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Asian Games medalists in field hockey
Field hockey players at the 1974 Asian Games
Field hockey players at the 1978 Asian Games
Government College University, Lahore alumni
Recipients of the Pride of Performance
Sportspeople from Faisalabad
Asian Games gold medalists for Pakistan
Medalists at the 1974 Asian Games
Medalists at the 1978 Asian Games
Punjab MPAs 1985–1988
Punjab MPAs 1988–1990
Punjab MPAs 1990–1993
Punjab MPAs 1993–1996
1978 Men's Hockey World Cup players