Munir Dar (field Hockey)

Munir Ahmed Dar (28 March 1935 – 1 June 2011) was a Pakistani field hockey player who played as a fullback. He was a member of the Pakistan team that won gold at the 1960 Rome Olympics and silver the 1956 Melbourne and 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He captained the side from 1965 to 1967.

Early life

Dar was born on 28 March 1935 in Amritsar, then a part of British India. His family moved to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947, where he discovered his love for hockey and was a member of his school team. He was also a member of the hockey team of the Government College, Lahore, while he was a student there.

Career

Dar made his debut for the Pakistan national team in 1954. He was picked in the team for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where Pakistan won the silver in the event, the country's first ever medal in the Olympic Games. During the 1958 Asian Games, Dar broke the world-record for most goals scored by a fullback in a match, when he scored five against South Korea (then Korea), all coming off penalty corners. Pakistan went on to win the game 8–0. Pakistan went on to win gold at the Games; Dar scored a total of eight goals in the competition. Two years later, Dar figured in Pakistan's gold-winning campaign at the 1960 Rome Olympics, that ended India's 32-year hegemony at the Games. He finished with four goals in the 1962 Asian Games, where his team defeated India to claim the gold medal in the final. Dar's third Olympic medal came at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, when the team won silver.

Dar remained Pakistan's first choice as a fullback until his retirement in 1967. Dar also captained his side from 1965 to 1967, leading the team to a silver at the 1966 Asian Games. In 1977, Dar recalled the 1956 Melbourne Olympics silver medal win as the "most memorable moment" of his playing career. He scored a total of 41 goals from 92 appearances for Pakistan.

Later life

Before retirement, Dar groomed his brother Tanvir who also played as a fullback for the Pakistan team between 1965 and 1974. He was a member of the gold-winning team at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and the 1971 World Cup, the latter of which he was the top-scorer of. Munir had three sons: the eldest, Tauqeer, won gold at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics; Taseer was stand-by for the team in that Games squad but never got to play for the Pakistan team; and the youngest, Tafseer, was a first-class cricketer. Dar went on to coach the Pakistan's senior and junior national sides in the 1970s and 1980s. The Dar brothers established a hockey academy in Pakistan after their playing days.

Outside hockey, Dar had an eye for horses and owned several Thoroughbreds, which won many races at the Lahore Race Club