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 from Pakistan who represented the Pakistan national field hockey team as a forward. Abbas is the youngest player to represent Pakistan at the age of sixteen years in 1973.
Early life
Safdar Abbas was born in Karachi in 1957. He started playing hockey at the Habib Public School in Karachi. He was a student of ninth grade in the school when he was called for the national team camp in 1973.
Career
After the
1972 Munich 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. ...
where Pakistan lost the final to
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
many Pakistani players were banned because of their behavior and protest over umpiring decisions in the game. Abbas was one the new players inducted into the team for the tour of Spain and Belgium in lead up to the 1973 Hockey World Cup in
Amstelveen
Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area.
The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villages o ...
where Pakistan was defending the title. During the World Cup Abbas scored a goal in the match against
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
at the age of sixteen years in the last pool match of the tournament. Pakistan eventually finished fourth.
Abbas was dropped from the squad for the
1974 Asian Games
The 7th Asian Games ( fa, بازیهای آسیایی ۱۹۷۴) were held from 1 to 16 September 1974 in Tehran, Imperial State of Iran. The Aryamehr Sports Complex was built for the Games. The Asian Games were hosted in the Middle East for th ...
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. Pakistan lost the final to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and finished second in the tournament. Abbas was a skillful forward with powerful hitting on the ball and ball control but he had temperamental issues and would often quarrel with opposition players and sometimes with his own teammates, he was dropped from the squad for the 1976 Olympics and
1978 World Cup
The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th edition of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament among the men's senior national teams. It was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June.
The Cup was won by ...
.
In 1979 he was recalled into the team for the Esanda International Tournament in
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
. Pakistan won the tournament defeating Australia in the final with Abbas scoring Pakistan's third goal to give them the lead in the 4–2 victory. He accompanied the team for the tour of Egypt and Netherlands later in the year.
In 1980 he scored five goals in Pakistan's successful defence of their title in the second
Hockey Champions Trophy
The Hockey Champions Trophy (HCT) was an international field hockey tournament held by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).
History
Founded in 1978 by Pakistan's Air Marshal Nur Khan and the Pakistan Hockey Federation, it featured the wor ...
at
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
. His final appearance for the national team was in the 1981 Hockey Champions Trophy at Karachi after which he announced his retirement.
Personal life
Safdar Abbas is the uncle of
Sohail Abbas
)
Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the southern constellation of Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, this is the third-brightest star in the constell ...
, the former Pakistan international with highest goals in international hockey with 348 goals. According to Sohail Abbas he was inspired by his uncle Safdar to play hockey as a youngster. Safdar's brother also played
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...
in Pakistan. His son Mudassar Abbas also played professional hockey in Pakistan before he moved to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
to play league hockey where he was selected for the Australian Masters Hockey team, he is also a qualified fitness trainer in Melbourne.