Mohammed Sleem (14 January 1892 – around 1980) was a

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player and lawyer who represented India at the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

and

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. He competed in the

singles event A singles event is an activity or program made available specifically to the romantically unattached, often with the underlying or explicit purpose of fostering dating or relationships among attendees. A singles event with a cocktail party-type a ...

at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

, reaching the third round in which he lost to eventual Olympic champion

Vincent Richards Vincent Richards (March 20, 1903 – September 28, 1959) was an American tennis player. He was active in the early decades of the 20th century, particularly known as being a superlative volleyer. He was ranked World No. 2 as an amateur in 1924 b ...

. With compatriot

Sydney Jacob Sydney Montague Jacob (28 October 1879 – 14 February 1977) was an Anglo-Indian tennis player who represented India at the Davis Cup and Olympic Games. He competed in the singles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics, reaching the quarterfinal in ...

he competed in the men's doubles event and lost in the first round. Between 1915 and 1931 he won 27 career titles.

Tennis career

He played his first tournament at Craigside, on grass at

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1913 which he won. Sleem won thirteen titles at the Punjab Lawn Tennis Championships, the first of which was in 1915. In June 1921 he reached the finals of the

London Championships London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

on grass before losing to Japanese player

Zenzo Shimizu , also spelt Zenzo Shimidzu, was a Japanese tennis player. Shimizu graduated from the Tokyo Higher Commerce School (now Hitotsubashi University). In 1912 he started to work for Mitsui & Co. He married the daughter of Sohōka. He resided in Ca ...

in straight sets. In September 1921, he won the Sussex Championships at

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

defeating compatriot Cotah Ramaswami in three sets. he was a runner-up at the

South of England Championships The South of England Championships, also known as the South of England Open Championships, was an outdoor tennis event held on grass courts at the Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club in Eastbourne, United Kingdom from 1881 until 1972. History The ...

held in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

losing to South African Brian Norton in five sets. he won the London Country Club hard court tournament held at

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

defeating

in straight sets. In mid October he clinched the Queen's Club Hard Court crown by beating

Walter Crawley Walter Cecil Crawley (29 March 1880 – 11 October 1940) was a British male tennis player. Life Crawley was born on 29 March 1880 and educated at St John's School, Leatherhead.The Quest Goes On, Being a Short History of the First Hundred Y ...

for the title. In late October he won the Welsh Covered Court Championships. He defeated Arthur Lovibond, the holder,

Francis Gordon Lowe Sir Francis Gordon Lowe, 2nd Baronet (21 June 1884 – 17 May 1972) was a British male tennis player. Lowe is best remembered for winning the Australasian Championships in 1915 (where he beat champion Horace Rice in the final). and for winning ...

and Crawley for the second time within two weeks on his way to the trophy. In February 1922 he won the All India Championships held in

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

defeating Australian player Harry Lewis-Barclay in three sets. 1924 was his most successful season winning eight titles from nine finals. In June 1922 he won the Simla Championships defeating Jagat Mohan Lal in three straight sets. In July 1924 he won the

Deauville Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Fes ...

tournament, for which he upset compatriot Syed Mohammad Hadi who gave the match up after two sets. In September he was victorious at the

where he had a clean win over Gordon Lowe in the final. 1928 was another successful season in which he won the

All England Plate The All England Plate, also referred to as the Wimbledon Plate, was a tennis competition held at the Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is ...

in July, followed by the

Midland Counties Championships The Midland Counties Championships also known as the Midland International was a grass court tennis tournament held at Edgbaston Cricket and Lawn Tennis Club, Edgbaston, Great Britain from 1881 to 1977. History The first unofficial championshi ...

Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...

and Herga LTC Championships at

Harrow, Middlesex Harrow () is a large town in Greater London, England, and serves as the principal settlement of the London Borough of Harrow. Lying about north-west of Charing Cross and south of Watford, the entire town including its localities had a popul ...

. In September 1924 he won the Gleneagles Hardcourts on clay at

Gleneagles, Scotland Glen Eagles (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann na h-Eaglais/Gleann Eagas) is a glen which connects with Glen Devon to form a pass through the Ochil Hills of Perth and Kinross in Scotland. (The spelling as two words, 'Glen Eagles', is as shown on UK O ...

defeating New Zealands Frank Fisher two sets to love. In June 1928 he travelled to Italy and competed in and won the TC Juventus Torino event in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

. In August 1928 he reached the semi-finals of the

German International Championships The Hamburg European Open (formerly ''German Open Tennis Championships'') is an annual tennis tournament for professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour. Before 2021, it was a mal ...

, he then won the West Sussex Championships at

Bognor Regis Bognor Regis (), sometimes simply known as Bognor (), is a town and seaside resort in West Sussex on the south coast of England, south-west of London, west of Brighton, south-east of Chichester and east of Portsmouth. Other nearby towns ...

and the Southampton LTC Championships at

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

the same month. In 1934 he won the indoor Cromer Covered Courts tournament at Newhaven Court, Cromer, Norfolk against Jimmy Jones. He played his final tournament in August 1937 the Westgate-on-Sea Tournament at

Westgate-on-Sea Westgate-on-Sea is a seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of Kent, England. It is within the Thanet local government district and borders the larger seaside resort of Margate. Its two sandy beaches have remained a popular touri ...

, Kent, England where he reached the quarter-finals. He was the member of the

Queen's Club The Queen's Club is a private sporting club in West Kensington, London, England. The club hosts the annual Queen's Club Championships men's grass court lawn tennis tournament (currently known as the "cinch Championships" for sponsorship reas ...

Personal life

Sleem was the son of Sheikh Mohammed Umar of Lahore. He became a criminal lawyer after graduating from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He practised as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

in England and was admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1910. He spoke English and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Manzur Qadir Manzur Qadir (28 November 1913 – 12 October 1974) ( ur, منظور قادر) was a Pakistani jurist and politician who served as the Foreign Minister of Pakistan in the military government of Ayub Khan from 1958 to 1962.

. He practised tennis at the Gymkhana Club of Punjab when he resided in India. He was buried in the

Miani Sahib Graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ur, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore.https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21727124-it-may-make-death-unequal-life-pakistan-inaugurates-luxury-graveyard ...

in Lahore, Pakistan.

Footnotes

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sleem, Mohammed 1892 births Indian male tennis players Olympic tennis players for India Tennis players at the 1924 Summer Olympics Year of death missing Alumni of the University of Cambridge 20th-century Indian lawyers Burials at Miani Sahib Graveyard