Sayed Mohammad Jaffar Shah (December 1911 – 21 March 1937) was an Indian

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 who competed in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

and

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

Early life and education

He was born in Shergarh, District Montgomery,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

(now in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

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 ...

). Jaffar received his education at the

Aitchison College Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

and at the Government College Lahore.

Playing career

In 1932 he was a member of the All India team that represented the country in the

Field hockey at the 1932 Summer Olympics The field hockey tournament at the 1932 Summer Olympics was the fourth edition of the field hockey event at the Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, ...

. The team won the gold medal. He played two matches as forward. Four years later in 1936, he was again the member of the All India Field Hockey team. The team again won the gold medal for Field hockey at the 1936 Summer Olympics. He played five matches as forward.

Death & Memory

He died as a result of a shooting accident near

on banks of river Ravi, in 1937. A hockey pavilion was constructed at

Aitchison College Lahore Aitchison College ( ur, ایچیسن کالج) is an independent, semi-private boys school for boarding and day students from grade 1–13 in Lahore, Pakistan. It has a tradition of providing an education that uses academics, sports, and co-curri ...

in 1939 as a tribute to the memory of Jaffar and his services to hockey in India. Jaffar Memorial hockey tournament is organised annually b
Ali Institute of Education
in Lahore.

Grave and Epitaph

The inscription on the gravestone reads "Syed Mohammad Jaffar Shah Kirmani son of Syed Nawazish Hussain Shah Kirmani" "Date of Birth: December 1911. Date of Death: March 1937" "(Late) Syed Mohammad Jaffar was one of the greatest players of hockey, who was selected for 1928 for United India (All India) Olympics Hockey team but he could not participate in that global event due to his youthful age. In 1932 All India Hockey Team which participated in Los Angeles (USA) Olympics, he was considered one of the best players in the world on the position of "Left-Out", although he was one of the youngest. He participated once again in 1936 tournament in the global tournament as vice-captain. Out of magnanimity of his heart, he decided not to be a candidate for the captaincy in favour of Dhyan Chand, although initially, he was being considered as captain of this victorious team because of his professionalism and skill level. He was not only a brilliant sportsman and a great representative (and an asset) of the country, he was also a figure of exemplary mannerism and conduct. On a fateful evening in 1938, while on a hunting expedition on river Ravi near Lakho Dehar, he accidentally gave his life away to the river. He saddened his huge fan following and opted to respond to the call of the God." "Gravestone laid down by Syed Javed Hassan son of (Late) Syed Mohammad Hassan" An Urdu verse is also inscribed on the tombstone. وہی جواں ہے قبیلے کی آنکھ کا تارا شباب ہے جسکا بے داغ ظرب ہے کاری

References

External links

*
Olympic profile

How Alumni of Syed Mohammad Jafar's alma mater upheld his memory

Reopening Jaffar Memorial Pavilion And New Memorial Ground Opening Ceremony
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffar, Sayed 1911 births 1937 deaths Field hockey players from Punjab, India Olympic field hockey players of India Field hockey players at the 1932 Summer Olympics Field hockey players at the 1936 Summer Olympics Indian male field hockey players Olympic gold medalists for India Olympic medalists in field hockey Medalists at the 1936 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1932 Summer Olympics Aitchison College alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni Deaths by firearm in India Firearm accident victims Accidental deaths in India